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At first, Amelia was splashing in little pools of water with her feet, then her hands, then this. I wasn't paying too much attention at first and I assumed she was dipping her forehead in the water as she does in the tub sometimes, but when she surfaced I realized that she was sipping up the water. Ah well, if eating dirt doesn't hurt her, this certainly won't!
learning to cope, but not to save. I had typed up this long post, then Amelia started to cry so I went to get her back asleep and during the 10 minutes I was gone, the computer spontaneously restarted. Arrgh. ok, here is what I wrote (I wrote it on paper last night).
I've been feeling comfortable with my parenting skills. So far, learning to be a mother has been mostly a process of watching my interaction with Amelia, guiding her and playing with her. However, learning to be a housewife has not been as easy as I'd've thought. Planning meals, doing dishes and laundry and cleaning all while guiding and playing with Amelia takes some doing. Recently, I've been having trouble when it came to our weekly grocery shop. I wouldn't know what to get, so we'd get what we thought we could use. This left me struggling during the week to think of what to make with what we had. And since I'm not big on leftovers, with a few exceptions, this was a daily experience. (an aside, I used to love to plan meals in my head during the day, 'til I got pregnant and couldn't think about food. I could still prepare it and eat it, just not think about it). The past two weeks, I've made menus and lists, and now I've made a master list. So now, even if I don't have time to plan the week ahead, I can take this list and be sure I'll get enough for the week. And I have about 10 basic meal ideas to choose from if I don't plan meals in a week. Yay!I've also started doing little chores while Amelia bathes; tidying in the bathroom, or folding the laundry. I can do this without being more than 10 feet away and able to see and talk with her. I can get chores done while Amelia is awake and contained, and still interact with her. Win-win.I know these are the little time-saving devices that people, mothers, have been doing for centuries, but ahh, I am pleased with myself!
sun baby
hammertime
Our landlord has been building a table and Amelia has been helping. Here she is helping put some of the tools away. He's been "teaching" her about woodworking, also about Elvis. He threatened to get her an Elvis CD for a gift, and has been trying to get her to say "Elvis". So far she can say el(v). Mostly, though, he's been someone else for her to glom onto during the witching-hour. Thank you!
I don't quite know what happened to me last week, yes I was a little busier, but others around me are doing much more, and yes Amelia's been teething, but mostly that's meant that I haven't cleaned or crafted as she's stayed awake much later than usual. Somehow, though, last week I just felt completely lost. I'm better yesterday and today though. I went out, by myself for the first time in a long time (other than little trips to the library and whatnot). My friend K. invited me to a craft night with some of her friend. It was so nice! And contrary to what some people think, I didn't get stressed about leaving Amelia, I knew she would most likely be awake when I got home, but I just wasn't worried. (I know Lance takes good care of her, and that never worries me.) She'd been up till midnight for two nights already, and by the time I left she had already had 1/2 hour of sleep so I knew she'd be fine. As we were driving home, I was saying how I knew that I was always the one to be stressed by separation, not Amelia, and that I knew that she was able now to communicate her needs a bit better. Yeah, so. I got home, she was awake and happy. As expected. But, I found out that when she woke up, (15 minutes after I left) she cried for 20 minutes. I know she was fine with Daddy, but that he just couldn't nurse her. (I still nurse her to sleep and I think she just wanted a 'top-up', so to speak.) I felt much better after my night out, and I realize that I really should get out once in a while, even if I don't want to be away from Amelia. I do want to write about the pictures I've posted, but not right now. Except to say that the one of her her with her eyes closed is her latest trick. We call it winking. Molli taught it to her first, and what she does is squint her eyes closed, a number of times in a row. A cross between a squint and an eye-flutter. Very cute, especially when she pairs it with her 'tough' face, (she scrunches up her lips and nose and eyebrows, we tried to get a picture of it altogether).ok, more later, thank you and good night!
wink!!
basket baby
I will tell these stories soon, (though the pictures just about say it all),
after the mud
mud bath
mud pie
