Last of Fall Fun

We had beautiful fall weather today. I had to make sure that Andrina and I got to enjoy being outside. This probably is the last time we'll get outside together before typical Chicago freezing cold and snow comes. It'll be her soon, I'm sure. Andrina loves being outside so much. I'm afraid that she's going to really miss the nice weather like I will. Until spring comes once again...

Sentimental and Thankful

I am a sentimental person. I cherish memories and momentos. I keep them close to me. I came across this picture in my camera from about a week ago. It's Andrina's footprints from after a bath. I was picking up in the bathroom after putting her down for the night when I saw her little footprints in the bath mat. It was so cute and they were so small that I had to take a picture of them. I am so very thankful for my baby girl. I love her so much.

Happy Thanksgiving

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner this year. Tom and I were super busy cooking all day long. I'm surprised that I remember to take any pictures at all I was so busy. But here's some from dinner this year. I have much to be thankful for and I am aware of that every day.

Something Different

I made some different foods to go with Thanksgiving dinner tonight-Native American foods, how appropriate. I made a honey bread and corn pudding and this-the prettiest dish at the table tonight-a stuffed sugar pumpkin. It has bison meat and wild rice as well as other yummy foods in it. It turned out great. It tastes great and it looks beautiful too. What do you think?

Wonderful Baby

Andrina had a great time at school today, the only problem was she refused to take a nap. But when we got home, we spent even more time playing together and cuddling than usual. And we spend A LOT of time doing those things! When it was time to watch her "baby DVD" (the reading one), I held her and we cuddled up and watched it together. And she was content to sit still and watch it for almost the entire way through. Just lots of cudding and us playing together. She's wonderful.

Children's Museum

Andrina and I met April and Anne at the children's museum again today. The cousins enjoyed themselves and they even played together some too. Not a small feat for a 2 1/2 year old and a 16 month old. Here's some pictures:

Memories

I just finished reading April's post about how she is so anticipating the birth of her new baby. It brought tears to my eyes because her description fits my own pregnancy with Andrina perfectly. It bought back so many memories.

I remember wanting Andrina so badly. I remember waiting and waiting to get pregnant. Waiting until I accomplished my own goal of finishing school so I would never resent my child. So if I didn't finish, there was no way I could blame him/her for it. Waiting until I was married and had a home so my baby would have a home and a mommy and a daddy. I remember being absolutely astounded that I got pregnant the very first time we tried. I was actually dumbfounded by it, thinking that I was over 30, so how did I get pregnant the first time we tried...

I remember wanting to hold my baby so badly and that I had to settle for holding and rubbing my growing belly. And at the same time being terrified that she would come too early and I would cry, hating that she might be one of those too tiny, too underdeveloped babies that was born too soon and might not make it. I would hold and rub my belly, telling her that I wanted to hold her in my arms but she had to stay inside of me so she could be born strong and healthy.

How I wanted to hold my baby so badly. When she was born I just held of for about an hour, gazing at her, until the nurse reminded me that I should nurse her. I was so busy just holding her and watching her that I forgot that I was supposed to nurse her within an hour after birth. And when she slept that night, I couldn't sleep. I brought her to my hospital bed and laid her next to me, one arm around her, the other touching her. And now she's this happy, healthy toddler and I am so in love with her. Everyday when I wake up I look forward to being with her. How I love cuddling her and playing with her. She is the center of my universe and I don't think I could go on if I ever lost her. I think I came alive when I gave birth to her.

School Update

I haven't blogged in over a week. Andrina is still getting used to school. She's doing much better but she is still not used to it yet. Last Wednesday she did pretty good, she was even able to take a nap there and slept for an hour and fifteen minutes, which is excellent for her as she is at the stage where she won't sleep if she's not at home. Last week Friday was a little harder. I checked on Andrina after their lunch and she didn't eat much. She was upset and wanted to be held. So I took her home for her nap and then I stayed at school with her during the afternoon. She did great, but then she knew I was there with her. So we'll have to see how she does this week. It may take her awhile to get used to school, but if she is going to cry everyday and just be miserable and not able to enjoy herself at all, then I'm going to take her out and wait a little longer. But she does seem to do better every day and she does seem to enjoy herself a little more each time, so maybe being there twice a week will work out for us. We'll have to wait and see.

I Miss My Baby

Andrina went to school for the second time today and she had an incredibly hard time. I dropped her off at 8:30 and came back a little before 11:30 to check on her. When I got there, she was crying. Her little face was red and there were many tears. How she clung to me when she saw me. I had to sit on the floor and hold her right then and there. Her teachers said that she had been crying on and off this morning. I was able to calm Andrina down except she started crying again when she thought I was leaving. I got there right before lunch so I helped Andrina to her chair at the table and she was still clinging to me. I ended up having to sit next to her at the table with 8 other toddlers while they ate their lunches. Andrina was ok to eat provided that I was there with her. She ate all of her food and drank most of her milk. Towards the end I tried to leave but that brought on more tears! So I decided that I would take her home for her nap and bring her back after it.

So I brought her back at 3:00, when nap time is definitely over with for the kiddos in her class at school so as not to wake them up. Andrina did not want to go into her classroom but her teacher took her and held her and that helped. I decided to leave otherwise there would be more tears. When I picked her up at 5:00 her teachers let me know that she did so much better in the afternoon. So much that she was not clinging on to her bear the entire time, so that is progress. However, when she saw me she called me and held her arms out to me. How could I have ever thought the other day that she was rejecting me? Andrina still really needs me. She is still a baby at heart and needs her momma.

The truth is, I need her. I missed her so much when she was at school today and Wednesday. Everywhere I went in our house, I pictured Andrina there with me. Playing with her toys in the family room, taking cans out of the pantry, taking my shoes out of the closet in my bedroom, playing with toys by my computer, looking at all of her books in her bedroom. I've come to the conclusion that I simply don't know how I lived so much of my life without her. She is the center of my universe and I am completely in love with her. Taking care of her everyday does not even seem like work. Realistically it can be difficult to manage errands and household stuff with meals, naps, and her play. But I love being with her. Whether we're at home or at a park or the children's museum or whatever outing we're on. I guess today I'm questioning whether or not she should have started part-time school just yet. Maybe I should have waited until she was 18 months or 2 years old? I know it's good for her development and now I know I need it for my own development. I can't be with her 24/7 forever but the two days she's been at school I've missed her terribly. I'm hoping that it will get easier for both of us as we get more used to it. That Andrina will enjoy it like she did the first day and I will remember that I had a full life before I became a mom. That there is so much I can do by myself that is important for me to do again. Like studying. Like going to the gym more frequently. Like reading more. And I sure deserve a trip to a day spa too. Maybe this will get easier for me as Andrina acclimates more to school. I hope so because as much as I would love to stay like this with her forever, just the way she is now, I can't have that.

Name That Body Part

I'm bragging more. Here's a list of all the body parts Andrina now knows:
1) nose
2) mouth
3) toes
4) arms
5) ears
6) head
7) tongue
8) eyes
9) belly
10)fingers

And she's not even 16 months old yet!!!!

1st Day of School

Andrina had her first day of school today. Overall, it was a success and she did great! I took her in at 8am and hung around for a little while. I wasn't sure if I'd need to stay or not but it turns out that I didn't. I took some pictures and then came back a little before 10:30 to check on Andrina right before their outside playtime. Andrina was more interested in running and playing outside than saying "hi" to Mommy. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I feel good that she is so secure and resilient but a part of me feels a tiny bit rejected so I felt sad.

I learned that about 20 minutes after I dropped her off, she started crying and needed to be held but one of her teachers was able to soothe her. But after that she did really well, she must have gotten hungry with all of the activity because she ate her entire lunch: chicken quesidillas, corn, oranges, and milk. Andrina did have a difficult time with her nap. She only slept 35 minutes and her bear didn't help much unfortunately. But she did finally fall asleep while away from home so that's good. Hopefully she will get more used to her school routine and be able to take longer naps there.

But she was happy to see me and Tom when we both picked her up at 3:30 so that helps. And when we got home, Andrina was still herself. She ate her entire dinner, watched her reading baby dvd, we did the flashcards together and she followed me into her ball pit so we had a great time in there together.

Here's some pictures of her first day at school:

She was there about 1 minute and started playing with the toys!
Right before morning outside time. She took off her shoe and tried to put it back on by herself.

Can you tell she loves to play outside?

Playing with a ball and leaves the teacher brought out for "nature studies".

I thought this was a good final shot. She's in pink in the background, confident and secure enough to explore by herself.

And can you tell from the pictures how HUGE the outdoor play area is? That was actually one of the deciding factors for this school. Some of them have tiny outdoor play areas, but theirs is huge and they have two of them, both huge (like 200 x 75 feet each). One for the kids up to 3 years old with smaller play equipment and one for the 4 to 6 year olds with bigger play equipment.

Congrats on your first day at school Andrina! Daddy and I could tell you really enjoyed it and it will be so good for you to go twice a week for now.

75 Degrees on Election Day?!?!

Wow, how can it be 75 degrees in Chicago in November? Must be climate change.....

Anyways, Andrina and I took advantage of this unseasonably warm weather by going to the park twice today. Once before her lunch and nap this morning, and again after she woke up.
Tom and I both participated in early voting last Monday, so I didn't have to worry about waiting in line to vote today. I've voted in every election since I turned 18. I'm going to pass this on to my daughter and teach her the value of living in a country where we participate in choosing our elected officials and that her voice is important.

HAPPY ELECTION DAY EVERYONE!

Great Jumpy Jump, Day 2

I took Andrina back to the baby expo today and she had a blast, again in the really cool Sesame Street jumper just for toddlers. I may have to rent this one at her next birthday party...
Here's some pictures of her having fun!

The woman in blue holding Andrina was the attendant, Lacie. She was incredibly nice and played with Andrina almost the entire time she was there both days. She seemed to really favor Andrina over the other kids, saying that "she's just so cute!" Unfortunately, she was not allowed to let anyone except toddlers in, even parents so I could not go in there. I sure wish they had these when I was a kid. I'm going to have to rent this one for Andrina's second birthday party and have a Sesame Street theme. Which I was going to do anyways since she loves Elmo so much!

Busy Day, Fun Day

Andrina and I went to the Baby Expo in Schaumburg this morning. Andrina had a BLAST in the toddlers-only Sesame Street jumper that was there. It had a slide, a ball pit, and obstacle course, it had a TON of fun stuff in it! She was running around and playing in there for at least 30 minutes. I don't have any pictures of that though because I left my camera in the car. I'll get some of those pics tomorrow. I've got more free passes so we're going back so she can enjoy that again. And I can get more samples and give-aways too.

After the baby expo we headed to my cousin Jamie's son's first birthday party. The timing was great. Andrina wore herself out in the jumper so she slept the entire drive to Jackson's party. There she got to play with her cousins, got her face painted with an Elmo pic and got balloons too. My kid loves balloons. Here's some pictures:

Mommy with a butterfly on my face and Andrina with Elmo on hers.

Playing with Grandma
With sweet cousin Maddie.
Maddie was great with Andrina!

Jackson (with cake!), Jamie, Maddie, Me, and Andrina.

Sorry the top of your head didn't get in the pic Maddie!

Jackson and Andrina playing with one of his new toys

Happy 1st Birthday Jackson!