Little Girl

Wow, look at this picture. When did my baby become a little girl???

Pumpkin Patch

I took Andrina to a pumpkin farm today. They are all over, but I drove an hour away this morning to take her to one that had many animals to see and moonwalks just for toddlers, so there wouldn't be any big kids trampling her. She had a great time. It did take her a little while to start playing in the baby moonwalk but once she got started, she really liked it and she loved seeing all of the animals. This was the first time she actually really saw the animals and it was obvious that she enjoyed seeing them too. And she seemed to enjoy walking around the pumpkins too. Enjoy the pictures:

Enjoying the baby moonwalk

Looking at animals
Showing Mommy a duck

Checking out the pumpkins

And her own mini pumpkin to take home

I'm going to take her to some more pumpkin patches this season. Hopefully some more with animals too.

Play Date

Just some pictures of Andrina and Ryan from their latest playdate today:

Gosh they are cute kids!!!! And big-how did that happen?

Hand Holding

I have to honestly say that I am absolutely loving this stage of life Andrina is in right now. She is this perfect mixture of baby and little girl. It's like right now instead of getting a "terrible toddler" I get to be the mommy of this fantastic little person who's part baby. Here's a list of everything about her current developmnental stage that I'm loving right now:

1) She can come to me with her arms extended, wanting me to pick her up and hold her. Perfect.
2) She now holds my hand and we walk together like this. Perfect.
3) She brings me books to read to her. Perfect.
4) She's still baby enough that I get to spend lots of time cuddling her. Perfect.
5) She's toddler enough to go do her own thing, then baby enough to want me again. Perfect.
6) She's toddler enough to show me where her nose or mouth or toes are. Then baby enough to go right back to cuddling. Perfect.
7) She enjoys physical play with me. Perfect.
8) Her temper-tantrums are few and short-lived when she does have them. I'm pretty lucky.
9) She has yet to say "no" when I tell her to do something. I'm pretty lucky.
10) She almost always obeys me when I tell her to "come here" or to give me something or to close a drawer that she has opened. I'm pretty lucky.
11) She's not picky about her food. She eats all the healthy foods I serve her, including fruits and vegetables! Peas, green beans, carrots, corn-she likes them all! Perfect.

Well, this stage won't last forever. But I'm really, really enjoying it. And when it's over, I'm still going to love her with all my heart. Just like I do right now. Even if there are more temper-tantrums and "no" words in our future...

Ahead of the Curve (Mouth, Nose, and Toes)

According to "What to Expect the Toddler Years", by the time toddlers are 15 months old, 50% of them can "point to one body part when asked" (Eisenberg, Murkoff, and Hathaway, 1996, p. 62). Well I am very, very pleased to report that Andrina can do MORE than that and she's not even 15 months old yet! Tonight at my Dad's and sister April's combined birthday celebration, Andrina was able to touch my nose and mouth when I asked her to (ok, it was my body parts, not hers but hey, she can't see her own nose and mouth).

It gets even better. Before bed we were reading one of her books, "I Love You Through and Through" and we were at the pages that said "I love your fingers and toes". When I read that to her, she pushed the book aside and grabbed her toes! Wow, totally amazing! That was the first time she showed me that she recognizes what her toes are. So she knows 3 body parts: mouth, nose, and toes!

Almost all of the credit goes to the "Your Baby Can Read" system, as in the starter DVD and books it is almost all animals and body parts that the babies are being taught. So early learning of their body parts is a bonus of the system (besides the main goal of early reading). However, I was able to teach Andrina "nose" before we started the system, so I get part of the credit.

Ms. Independent

Today was yesterday's 180. Andrina was not needy today, if fact, she was extremely independent. She threw a fit at lunch today when I tried to "help" her eat (yes, she can feed herself but it takes f o r e v e r!). I made her a nice healthy lunch of ham (no nitrates or growth hormones) and cheese (tons of calcium and protein) on wheat bread (whole grain) with carrots and mixed fruit (I always offer fruit and vegetables at every meal and she actually likes them! I'm so proud!). I cut up her sandwich into bite sized pieces for her too (note: this actually takes a long time-does anyone except other moms know this and appreciate it? I doubt it). Well, like I said before, Andrina got really mad when I tried to help her, so I said forget it and gave her the fork and plate to let her feed herself. Which she did just fine, except she kept shoving too much food into her mouth instead of actually chewing in between bites. So I had to take the plate away from her to prevent her from choking since she would not listen to logic and reason. That really made her mad! So lunch was very short lived today. She only ate about half of her lunch before a complete meltdown and I lost my patience. I put her down for her nap which she was due for and thankfully, she fell right asleep.

Before the lunch time meltdown...

After her nap she was agreeable to a snack and ate an entire organic toddler cereal bar and drank diluted fruit juice. Then it was off to the gym. Here's my on-the-go Andrina in some of her new fall clothes:

Isn't she just adorable?

The gym experience went well again. This was Andrina's third trip in there in their child care. She did just great. She played some this time and when I came to pick her up, one of the staffers was playing with duplo blocks with her, which I really appreciate since they don't have to interact with the kids so I really like it when they do. There was a little bit of neediness when I picked her up to go home, she would not stop hugging me! I really loved that part and that is some positive reinforcement to take her to the gym with me much more often. Some separation is good for her development.

I had originally planed to make Andrina a scrambled egg for dinner (with sides of veggies and fruit), but after today's lunch episode, I decided that today would be Andrina's first happy meal from McDonalds. I chose it because: their hamburgers are small and easy to bite into and chew, it's so kid-friendly it's practically guaranteed that she'll eat it, if she throws it all on the floor it's not a big waste, and now they have apples and milk instead of french fries and soda. I'm not a health food nazi, but there is no way I'm going to let my baby have soda and fries-food that has zero nutritional value. The hamburger isn't exactly healthy but when I pat the grease off of it, take off the pickle and add a piece of cheese from home, it's not too bad of an option. Especially when I serve it with more fruit and veggies, which I did. So in the end, Andrina had a quasi-happy meal.

The quasi-happy meal was a success. I cut her burger into quarters and gave her one quarter at a time and put fruit and veggie pieces on her tray, handed her a fork, and let her do the entire meal on her own. It was extremely messy, but a good messy! The food only got squished in her hands and on the tray, not much landed on the floor. It was adorable to watch her eat her burger. She took it apart and took bites out of each ingredient separately. And she ate her carrots and fruit and drank her diluted juice too. Interestingly, the milk and apples that came with it are in the fridge. I had already opened up a fruit cup that still had a lot of fruit in it so the apples will have to wait until tomorrow. And I'll add the milk to her cereal since she is drinking the next-step toddler formula.

So this is why they call it a happy meal!

Oh and the toy, it was a Glenda doll from the Wizard of Oz. It was so late that the toy will have to wait another day too.

So Needy

Andrina was extremely needy today. And of course, it is on the day that Tom left for an out of town trip and I am all alone dealing with a needy baby/toddler. Andrina would not let me leave a room with out her today. Every time I started to go through a baby gate by myself, she started crying, then screaming. And these were the same, little things I do everyday that she is completely accustomed to. She was playing in the family room and I left to go into the utility room to get laundry out of the dryer. And if you know my house, you know that my utility room is about 3 feet from our family room. She cried and screamed like I was leaving her for good! And the entire time I'm talking to her, telling her I'll be right back. But she kept at it until I was back with her. I don't know how many times I had to pick up a tearful baby/toddler today because I had the nerve to leave her presence for a tiny amount of time.

And then there were the toddler temper-tantrums. Once today it was "no remote" and that brought one on. I walk away from Andrina when she throws a baby fit and that almost always makes the tantrum a short one. True to her babyness (is that a real word?), I walk away from her tantrum and she comes to me, arms up, wanting to be held. More needy baby/toddler.

But there is such sweetness in this neediness. My baby wants me badly and how much longer will this last? Not only is she growing up too fast, but soon she'll be ready to be anywhere but with a 'rent. So I try not to get upset and savor the tenderness behind it. When she abandons her temper tantrum to come to me, arms extended, I pick her up and cuddle her close. And she snuggles into me, sucking on her fingers. And she becomes all baby once again. A sweet baby needing her mommy. How can I not love that?