Clapping!

At dinner, she couldn't do it... At bedtime, to her immense satisfaction, she could!

My Little Gourmand At Seven Months

The best laugh!

(Thanks Amy for inspiring me to write shorts posts on the small milestones!)

First barrette, first pincer grasp, first strawberry, first Cheerios!
A busy day for my girl!

Amelie has been an enthusiastic eater since she started solid foods at 5+ months, a little earlier than originally planned because I was worried about my milks supply. But she was such a sweet little baby about it all, noisily sucking food off her spoon as if it were a nipple. Rather early on, she grabbed the spoon and we traded back and forth -- one spoon for each of her two hands, and one (inevitably sticky) one for me.

Well. A week ago she couldn't do this, at all. But a piece of food dropped onto her tray this past weekend and she handily picked it up with a pincer grasp. A week ago she needed her fruit to be inside a mesh feeder, or else pureed... this past weekend she handily fed herself Cheerios and whole raspberries and large pieces of strawberry. Turns out large pieces are actually a lot easier than little tiny pieces.

I had wanted to do Baby Led Weaning with Calliope, but had to abandon my plan because girlfriend would cry and pull her hands away if I put food on her tray.

But oh, Amelie! She adores food! We went to a brunch last weekend and she out-ate everyone. Just kept on going. Another mom was trying to be restrained in feeding her baby... so her baby just crawled over to Amelie (sitting in her booster seat on the floor) and ate off of Amelie's tray. This other mom had never given her daughter Cheerios, and only gave her the tiniest pieces of food, like a raspberry split into four pieces (and to be fair, I was this way before this weekend)... she watched in awe as her daughter, too, ate whole raspberries and blackberries and Cheerios.

Her joy was a miracle to behold. I love it that I am challenging her by giving her real food! And happy she is getting to enjoy this pleasure at such a young age. So much fun to feed a baby who loves food!

Amazing big sister reads patiently who a squirmy audience who is less interested in
listening and more interesting in eating the book.

"Attainable Goals"

There are times lately that everything is really, really good.  

These past few weeks have not been one of those times.  

I know I'm not alone.  What are your parenting struggles right now?  Feel free to post here or on your own blog if you want to share.

http://shannonsrainbow.blogspot.com/2015/10/attainable-goals.html

So here's what I'm working on.

One: saying "no" less often. Calliope really wanted to use the sunscreen stick this morning. Never mind that it is a rainy day in November in the northeast. So although it's messy, I said, yes... once she was otherwise ready to go. And when we got to school, I dabbed off the worse of the streaky white mess.

She wanted me to take a picture of Baby Jenna. My first instinct was to say "no, I don't need
a picture of a plastic doll."
Then I realized I could take a cute picture of Calliope with Baby Jenna.
Win.
Everyone is happy.

My first instinct is always to say no to more messes. I'm trying to say yes.

And two: not getting stressed and impatient with Calliope moving slowly. This is especially hard when trying to get out of the apartment in the mornings. Weekday mornings are, if not a well oiled machine, at least a lot smoother because we have very regular routines. But weekends... sometimes Calliope gets her screen time. I'm scurrying around trying to get things done and also to have a few minutes to relax on the couch and check email. So it's late morning by the time we are trying to leave, and sometimes, I just want to scream at the maddening pace and the "wait, I need to bring my fill-in-the-blank-which-I-won't-remember-to-play-with-while-we-are-out." And I get really tense. And tend to bark. So I'm trying to work on that.

Laura Markham suggests using "this is not an emergency" as a mantra and I'm trying.

A Trip to the Circus

I'm really tired and want to go to bed but have to finish cleaning up the kitchen, which means it's a perfect time to blog, right?

Lately I've been going to bed at 8:30. Just so damn tired, recovering from the bronchitis and trying to get my fitness back up. Until the weekend, when I stupidly stay up late. Leaving me more tired on weekends than weekdays. What is that???

So just a quick post because I never have the energy/time/inclination to blog, but I miss it.

Before the circus (at Lincoln Center): Mommy, Calliope, Auntie Salt Lick (who treated us to the show)

I splurged and bought her one of those expensive (but cheap!) light up toys this year...
It's the little things, right? Especially when you are four.

Dressed up "extra fancy" for the circus. Extra fancy meaning a tutu, worn backwards and pulled up to her nipples, special jewels, and cupcake underwear. Oh, and mismatched socks. When wearing said outfit, it's important to lift the skirt all the way up before sitting on the subway, to ensure the cupcake underwear makes direct contact with the plastic seat, ideally while sitting next to a woman in hijab.

Casually perusing a little Curious George

When I put her on her knees yesterday, she stayed put for a few seconds! And today, she got
up on her knees all on her own a couple of times! Mobility, ready or not, here we come!

Just being her cute little self.

I let Calliope carry Amelie (while walking) for the first time.
Amelie seems untroubled by her new form of transportation.

...But those dangling legs make Mommy a little nervous.

Calliope's thank you note for Auntie Salt Lick (to thank her for the circus): a picture of Calliope. She has three noses. And
pink hair on one side, red on the other. The lines on top of the face are her forehead. Then there's eyes, the aforementioned
three noses, cheeks, mouth, and chin. Perhaps not entirely to scale. I'm tickled that she draws chins and foreheads.
The "MOMOMOM" means "I love you Auntie Salt Lick. Love, Calliope." 

On the back: The artist's signature. And no, she did not want help with spelling her name. There's ice creams underneath.