Today, standing before me in her diaper, Alia pointed to her teeny tiny little boobies.
Alia: No boo boos!
Me: What Alia, do you want Mommy to take them off?
Alia: Yes!
Me: Alia, everyone has boobies!
Alia: Yeah?
Me: Mommy has them. Daddy has them. Amelie has them. (at which time we all show Alia our boobies, one by one.)
Alia: NO BOOBIES!!!!!!
Until tomorrow's bathtime...
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Montessori, here we come!
Today is among the hardest days I've had...my baby started preschool!
I had all the emotion of a first-time-Mommy dropping off her beloved 2 year old at the Montessori. I cried in the parking lot like everyone said I would. Okay, that's not entirely true. While I did cry in the parking lot, the tears actually began in the classroom. That's right.
You know the whole "be strong for her"? I tried. Believe me I tried. But as soon as the teacher came over and asked how we were doing, meaning how was Alia doing, I burst into tears.
Yep. I am a big mushy loser.
But the good news? Alia did great!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Alia is 24 months old! That's right, 2!!!
Alia turned 2 this week, and as her Mommy, I couldn't be prouder. Alia continues to grow and develop before our eyes. Her verbal skills simply amaze us. Last month, Alia became a real pro at our iPhone...in fact, she played with it all the way to and from Turkey. And this month? Alia's skills of asking for the iPhone went from, "iBod!" to "Peez, Daddy iBod" meaning she wanted Daddy's iPhone. And when we give it to her? She replies with "Peez, Mommy iBod, one, two iBod" which means, "I would like Mommy's iPod too, you know, both of them!". So any time Alia wants both of anything, both toys, both spoons, etc., she says "one two toy" or "one, two spoons". She is a counting maven. The only problem is she gets excited and moves ahead of herself sometimes...."one, two, FIVE!" is a common expression in our house.
Along with Alia's counting, she says "whassup, Mommy!", "whassup, Daddy!", and of course, "whasup, iBod!"Alia also has learned to say "sorry" in addition to signing it when she's done something wrong. Only it comes out "sozzzzzy", which is about the cutest thing ever when coupled with her big round brown eyes looking up at you like a pathetic puppy while signing "sorry".
Last month, Alia surprised us with her first string of 3 words, being "ice, ice, baby!". And this month? We hear Ice, Ice, Daddy! Ice, Ice, Mommy, Ice, Ice Amonie!, Ice, Ice, iBod! ....Alia definitely has a great sense of humor!
Alia has begun potty training, although I'll be the first to admit, I'm somewhat feeling my way through this and could be a whole lot more diligent. Basically, first thing in the morning, I put her on her potty. Then later in the day we go to sit on the potty. The first time we did it? We got pee pee in the potty!!!! and out of all the times since? We've had success two more times. We did find that she will sit on the potty indefinitely if we keep her company and offer her very special new "potty toys" which Ajay was wise enough to shop for. These are toys that are only played with while on the potty and not allowed anywhere else. However, today? I noticed her interest in the toys was much greater than interest in making pee pee in the potty. Finally, I asked Alia, "Alia, where is the pee pee?" and she responded with her big smile and pointed to her little hoo-hoo and said "pee pee hide!"
Which is the perfect segue to Alia's other new favorite pass-time...hide and seek! Only in our game? Mommy sits in a dining room chair and feeds Amelie and Alia runs and hides under the table and yells, "HIDE! TABLE!" and I respond with "Oh, no! Where has my Alia gone? I can't find her anywhere!" and then she dashes out and waits for me to say "There she iiiiiiis!" and she comes and hugs my legs. Oh, and hugs? Alia now gives them freely and asks for them when she's sad. Only she pronounces it "ug!, Mommy!"
We celebrated Alia's birthday on a boat with the people she requested to be invited...being, my friend Z, her husband Barry, their baby son Sirous, as well as our friends/neighbors Jim and Carol. We did a two hour harbor cruise and had cake. Only Alia didn't want cake (fine by Amelie...more for her!). She wanted MINT! Ice cream that is. Her favorite favorite food in the world. Plain mint. No chips. Like the ice cream she ate in Turkey every day.
So there you have it. I have a two year old. Sweet? Oh, yes! And naughty? You tell me....(that's my cream couch with purple crayon if you couldn't tell...)
Along with Alia's counting, she says "whassup, Mommy!", "whassup, Daddy!", and of course, "whasup, iBod!"Alia also has learned to say "sorry" in addition to signing it when she's done something wrong. Only it comes out "sozzzzzy", which is about the cutest thing ever when coupled with her big round brown eyes looking up at you like a pathetic puppy while signing "sorry".
Last month, Alia surprised us with her first string of 3 words, being "ice, ice, baby!". And this month? We hear Ice, Ice, Daddy! Ice, Ice, Mommy, Ice, Ice Amonie!, Ice, Ice, iBod! ....Alia definitely has a great sense of humor!
Alia has begun potty training, although I'll be the first to admit, I'm somewhat feeling my way through this and could be a whole lot more diligent. Basically, first thing in the morning, I put her on her potty. Then later in the day we go to sit on the potty. The first time we did it? We got pee pee in the potty!!!! and out of all the times since? We've had success two more times. We did find that she will sit on the potty indefinitely if we keep her company and offer her very special new "potty toys" which Ajay was wise enough to shop for. These are toys that are only played with while on the potty and not allowed anywhere else. However, today? I noticed her interest in the toys was much greater than interest in making pee pee in the potty. Finally, I asked Alia, "Alia, where is the pee pee?" and she responded with her big smile and pointed to her little hoo-hoo and said "pee pee hide!"
Which is the perfect segue to Alia's other new favorite pass-time...hide and seek! Only in our game? Mommy sits in a dining room chair and feeds Amelie and Alia runs and hides under the table and yells, "HIDE! TABLE!" and I respond with "Oh, no! Where has my Alia gone? I can't find her anywhere!" and then she dashes out and waits for me to say "There she iiiiiiis!" and she comes and hugs my legs. Oh, and hugs? Alia now gives them freely and asks for them when she's sad. Only she pronounces it "ug!, Mommy!"
We celebrated Alia's birthday on a boat with the people she requested to be invited...being, my friend Z, her husband Barry, their baby son Sirous, as well as our friends/neighbors Jim and Carol. We did a two hour harbor cruise and had cake. Only Alia didn't want cake (fine by Amelie...more for her!). She wanted MINT! Ice cream that is. Her favorite favorite food in the world. Plain mint. No chips. Like the ice cream she ate in Turkey every day.
So there you have it. I have a two year old. Sweet? Oh, yes! And naughty? You tell me....(that's my cream couch with purple crayon if you couldn't tell...)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Amelie is 9 months...and we're busy!
With Alia beginning Montessori and Amelie getting active, oh, yeah, and transitioning from one nanny and finding another one to replace her, we are busy.
But Amelie?
Oh, she is sweet. She is ready to crawl. Only her current crawl looks more like a downward dog pose and then collapses to her bottom. She repeats this over and over and moves across the floor in a random direction at a very slow pace.
Amelie is pointing. Her favorite thing to do is explore the inside of my mouth with her cute little pointer.
Amelie also likes *gulp* Elmo in Grouchland. Yes, remember my strict rules for Alia that she should have no TV until the age of 2? Well, now Alia's 2 and the TV is on from time to time, and guess who loves it!? That's right.
But Amelie?
Oh, she is sweet. She is ready to crawl. Only her current crawl looks more like a downward dog pose and then collapses to her bottom. She repeats this over and over and moves across the floor in a random direction at a very slow pace.
Amelie is pointing. Her favorite thing to do is explore the inside of my mouth with her cute little pointer.
Amelie also likes *gulp* Elmo in Grouchland. Yes, remember my strict rules for Alia that she should have no TV until the age of 2? Well, now Alia's 2 and the TV is on from time to time, and guess who loves it!? That's right.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Amelie is 8 months old!
This summer has been wonderful. First there were 3 weeks in Turkey, and then a week after returning, we headed out for another week in Napa. With all this together time, Amelie has really thrived!
Amelie sits up. Amelie has two teeth. Amelie says MAMAMA! She loves her sister. I mean, she has always loved Alia, but all it takes to perk up a cranky Amelie is to put Alia in front of her and the world's biggest baby smile spreads across Amelies round Charlie Brown face!
Amelie is now a bona-fide member of our family. She has her likes and dislikes, and has begun to express them, albeit in a much more subtle way than her sister Alia!
This month Amelie has changed to four 8 oz. bottles per day and three solid meals. Unfortunately, she's not eating them together, so she actually has be be fed something or another ---count them---7 times a day. She's a grazer! Her stomach isn't quite big enough to handle the big bottle plus food, but when I look back at Alia's 8-month blog, she was exactly in the same spot!
So there you have it...my little baby is actually getting quite big. We are 2/3 of the way through her baby-year. It's gone by so quickly, and to be honest sometimes I feel guilty that I haven't been able to celebrate each and every morsel of it because now there are two little ones to watch.
Amelie sits up. Amelie has two teeth. Amelie says MAMAMA! She loves her sister. I mean, she has always loved Alia, but all it takes to perk up a cranky Amelie is to put Alia in front of her and the world's biggest baby smile spreads across Amelies round Charlie Brown face!
Amelie is now a bona-fide member of our family. She has her likes and dislikes, and has begun to express them, albeit in a much more subtle way than her sister Alia!
This month Amelie has changed to four 8 oz. bottles per day and three solid meals. Unfortunately, she's not eating them together, so she actually has be be fed something or another ---count them---7 times a day. She's a grazer! Her stomach isn't quite big enough to handle the big bottle plus food, but when I look back at Alia's 8-month blog, she was exactly in the same spot!
So there you have it...my little baby is actually getting quite big. We are 2/3 of the way through her baby-year. It's gone by so quickly, and to be honest sometimes I feel guilty that I haven't been able to celebrate each and every morsel of it because now there are two little ones to watch.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Alia is 23 Months old!
We celebrated Alia's 23rd month birthday (okay, actually it went unacknowledged in favor of a pre-2-year-old birthday celebration) here in Turkey. As I sit here in the living room looking at the royal blue Agean listening to music pumping, I reflect on the last three weeks we've spent here and how Alia has blossomed.
During our stay here in Turkey, I've watched Alia grow beyond belief. Physically speaking, Alia has actually put on a little bit of weight. She has come out of her shell and has been eating very well. She loves the fruit here fresh from the neighborhood fruit stand. She's eaten unfamiliar things, different cheeses, and even branched out into mint ice cream. She is brown, thanks to her dad's genes. She also seems taller. All in all, the time away from home with non-stop Daddy time and non-stop Grandma time has done amazing things for her.
Socially, Turkish people have really helped her to come out of her shell. Before the trip, Alia was very shy. Although she did begin to show signs of improvement before our arrival, the Turks are lovers of babies and kids, and every evening when we strolled through the village, men and women alike would approach to admire her, offer her flowers, kiss her feet, pinch her cheeks. I'm not kidding...the Turks love children, and not in the "if I were in the U.S., I'd feel creeped out" way. The affection is genuine, and as a result, Alia now greets people with "Hi" and her version of "Marhaba"(hello in Turkish) which sound little like "AAbba".
Alia's verbal skills have also made tremendous strides this month. She counts. She strings two and three words together. Her first string of words was "Ice, Ice, baby!"...which may make us bad parents, but we really enjoy our little trained monkey! She also free-styles nursery rhymes....one, two, buckly my Froggy! three, four, shut the Goka! (Alia speak for yogurt), etc.
Alia went swimming nearly every day we were here with her new water wings. In the beginning she was a little concerned about them, but once she realized their value, she happily complied.
It has been a wonderful month for me as well. I feel that this holiday has done both of us good. Our relationship is no longer one filled with daily battles. I have been able to let go of the every-day stress and really enjoy Alia again. She is a bright, funny little girl, and no longer a baby.
During our stay here in Turkey, I've watched Alia grow beyond belief. Physically speaking, Alia has actually put on a little bit of weight. She has come out of her shell and has been eating very well. She loves the fruit here fresh from the neighborhood fruit stand. She's eaten unfamiliar things, different cheeses, and even branched out into mint ice cream. She is brown, thanks to her dad's genes. She also seems taller. All in all, the time away from home with non-stop Daddy time and non-stop Grandma time has done amazing things for her.
Socially, Turkish people have really helped her to come out of her shell. Before the trip, Alia was very shy. Although she did begin to show signs of improvement before our arrival, the Turks are lovers of babies and kids, and every evening when we strolled through the village, men and women alike would approach to admire her, offer her flowers, kiss her feet, pinch her cheeks. I'm not kidding...the Turks love children, and not in the "if I were in the U.S., I'd feel creeped out" way. The affection is genuine, and as a result, Alia now greets people with "Hi" and her version of "Marhaba"(hello in Turkish) which sound little like "AAbba".
Alia's verbal skills have also made tremendous strides this month. She counts. She strings two and three words together. Her first string of words was "Ice, Ice, baby!"...which may make us bad parents, but we really enjoy our little trained monkey! She also free-styles nursery rhymes....one, two, buckly my Froggy! three, four, shut the Goka! (Alia speak for yogurt), etc.
Alia went swimming nearly every day we were here with her new water wings. In the beginning she was a little concerned about them, but once she realized their value, she happily complied.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Amelie is 7 Months Old
Amelie rolls back and forth, and has become a tummy sleeper. She loves watching her sister above all else. Amelie is nuzzling her way right in to the center of things in our family.
Amelie typically goes to bed at 7 and wakes up anywhere from 5am to 7AM. If she wakes early, I feed her and put her back down. Sometimes she'll go back to bed, sometimes not. She is typically up before Alia, so every morning when Alia awakes, Amelie and I go to greet her. I put her in her crib, and she enjoys playing with toys there. She still does not sleep in their bedroom as we just have too many wake ups between the girls and don't want to risk the girls waking each other up. As it is now, we don't go to either girls in the night unless they don't settle themselves within 10 or 15 minutes.
So there we are...another month has come and gone and Amelie just keeps becoming more of herself. She is happy, sweet, and loves to be apart of things.
Friday, June 11, 2010
thoughts on international travel with baby and toddler
Okay, here I sit in Turkbuku, Turkey. That's an hour flight from Istanbul if you're one of my non-family readers. We made the journey last Friday with Alia and Amelie. This is the second international trip I've taken with baby, and as a relatively seasoned traveler pre-baby, let me just say that it's a different world once your mini-me is along for the ride.
So what have I learned? It's probably not a good idea to try out new hip boutique hotels in the center of the hip up and coming area of a given city. Although that would have been right up our alley 2 years ago, this year, we arrived Istanbul at midnight on a Saturday night. After 20 hours of travel, we found that the 20 minute ride to the hotel took more like an hour due to pedestrian traffic in our little party zone. Now, I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture of two crying, exhausted babies stuffed in yet another mode of transportation and arriving at the hotel with boom boom boom music going full blast. Sure, it looked like fun for anyone who enjoys nightlife, enjoys catching the scenery, but that was not us at that moment. So what did I take away from this? Maybe next time we leave L.A. on Wednesday night rather than Friday night so that we arrive on Thursday night rather than Saturday night. And instead of trying to grab a new Istanbul experience where there really isn't time for one (we were just over-nighting for one night and heading to Turkbuku the following day), maybe our tried and true spot is a better bet...or perhaps even the airport hotel at Attaturk airport would be even better and more streamlined. Oh, and with two babies? Confirm and double confirm that they will in fact have two cribs waiting for you after your long journey. Trust me...you don't want to wait yet another hour for a single crib to be delivered and then learn that there isn't a second one. It's not a good time to begin your toddler sleeping on an impromptu floor pallet.
Staying at the airport hotel would alleviate any issues with Istanbul nightlife and traffic jams, but another thought on leaving mid-week (and thus returning mid-week from our typical 3 weeks away) is that it might be nice for Ajay to return to a two day work week rather than a five day work week. Just a thought.
What else....if you have a baby that is just learning to eat solids? Bring lots of bibs. No telling when you'll get to a laundry facility, and let's just say Amelie still has a way to go with dining and etiquette! Oh, and it is not a mistake to bring your video monitor if you're used to having one at home. This year I brought ours and am so glad I did. Yes, they do require plug converters, and make sure they are the ones that convert current as well as plugs), but it's really helped my piece of mind while they nap as well as the mid-night wake-ups from jet lag.
This time I really packed quite a lot of baby accouterments. I brought formula, bottles, baby food, baby spoons, sippy cups, toys, books, bibs, baby shampoo, baby sunscreen, baby sun hats, and even the spring-open tent that the girls play in at home. And while we have somewhat taken over the house with all of our baby paraphernalia, I am happy I though ahead enough to get all this stuff together. The girls are comforted and entertained by having their familiar things here, in addition to new toys that we packed for the journey. Oh, and I really thought I over-packed the girls clothes? But in fact, I really didn't. Considering Alia's level of activity and propensity for covering herself in water from the hose and dirt from baby-jesus-knows-where, as well as Amelie's general baby-messiness, and Europe/Asia's lack of electric dryers, laundry takes longer to get done. Everything dries in the sun. So I'm glad I packed so many pjs, onesies, outfits, socks, etc. for the girls. Otherwise they'd be wearing either damp or dirty clothes.
Now lets talk about the flight. Last year traveling, Amelie was still on the inside. We flew coach, and Alia had her own seat. She still just barely fit in her infant car seat so she flew in that, slept in that, and when she got antsy, we put it on the ground in front of her seat and let her stand and bounce on the airplane seat. That flight for me was pure hell. Six months pregnant, stuffed in a seat with no way to alleviate my swollen ankles, leg cramps, and general discomfort, I was pretty unhappy for the entire trip. This time we flew business class. We got 3 seats for the four of us and since Alia is still under two, we brought Amelie's car seat on board and gave her the third seat, and Alia was our lap child for take off and landing. Once we were in the air and Alia was ready for sleep, we made a pallet on the floor for Alia in front of Amelie's seat and she slept rather happily for 6 hours which is more than most of us slept. Amelie on the other hand had a hard time sleeping in her car seat and awoke from time to time trying to twist and turn onto her belly. All in all, the flight was a thousand million times better this year. Maybe it was me not being pregnant. Maybe it was that they treat you like a human being in business class rather than cattle in coach. But if you've got miles, I think using them up on business class tickets is miles well spent.
So that's where we're at. Turkey. Enjoying a good change of scenery, time with family, new adventures for Alia, and new sights and smells and sounds for Amelie.
So what have I learned? It's probably not a good idea to try out new hip boutique hotels in the center of the hip up and coming area of a given city. Although that would have been right up our alley 2 years ago, this year, we arrived Istanbul at midnight on a Saturday night. After 20 hours of travel, we found that the 20 minute ride to the hotel took more like an hour due to pedestrian traffic in our little party zone. Now, I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture of two crying, exhausted babies stuffed in yet another mode of transportation and arriving at the hotel with boom boom boom music going full blast. Sure, it looked like fun for anyone who enjoys nightlife, enjoys catching the scenery, but that was not us at that moment. So what did I take away from this? Maybe next time we leave L.A. on Wednesday night rather than Friday night so that we arrive on Thursday night rather than Saturday night. And instead of trying to grab a new Istanbul experience where there really isn't time for one (we were just over-nighting for one night and heading to Turkbuku the following day), maybe our tried and true spot is a better bet...or perhaps even the airport hotel at Attaturk airport would be even better and more streamlined. Oh, and with two babies? Confirm and double confirm that they will in fact have two cribs waiting for you after your long journey. Trust me...you don't want to wait yet another hour for a single crib to be delivered and then learn that there isn't a second one. It's not a good time to begin your toddler sleeping on an impromptu floor pallet.
Staying at the airport hotel would alleviate any issues with Istanbul nightlife and traffic jams, but another thought on leaving mid-week (and thus returning mid-week from our typical 3 weeks away) is that it might be nice for Ajay to return to a two day work week rather than a five day work week. Just a thought.
What else....if you have a baby that is just learning to eat solids? Bring lots of bibs. No telling when you'll get to a laundry facility, and let's just say Amelie still has a way to go with dining and etiquette! Oh, and it is not a mistake to bring your video monitor if you're used to having one at home. This year I brought ours and am so glad I did. Yes, they do require plug converters, and make sure they are the ones that convert current as well as plugs), but it's really helped my piece of mind while they nap as well as the mid-night wake-ups from jet lag.
This time I really packed quite a lot of baby accouterments. I brought formula, bottles, baby food, baby spoons, sippy cups, toys, books, bibs, baby shampoo, baby sunscreen, baby sun hats, and even the spring-open tent that the girls play in at home. And while we have somewhat taken over the house with all of our baby paraphernalia, I am happy I though ahead enough to get all this stuff together. The girls are comforted and entertained by having their familiar things here, in addition to new toys that we packed for the journey. Oh, and I really thought I over-packed the girls clothes? But in fact, I really didn't. Considering Alia's level of activity and propensity for covering herself in water from the hose and dirt from baby-jesus-knows-where, as well as Amelie's general baby-messiness, and Europe/Asia's lack of electric dryers, laundry takes longer to get done. Everything dries in the sun. So I'm glad I packed so many pjs, onesies, outfits, socks, etc. for the girls. Otherwise they'd be wearing either damp or dirty clothes.
Now lets talk about the flight. Last year traveling, Amelie was still on the inside. We flew coach, and Alia had her own seat. She still just barely fit in her infant car seat so she flew in that, slept in that, and when she got antsy, we put it on the ground in front of her seat and let her stand and bounce on the airplane seat. That flight for me was pure hell. Six months pregnant, stuffed in a seat with no way to alleviate my swollen ankles, leg cramps, and general discomfort, I was pretty unhappy for the entire trip. This time we flew business class. We got 3 seats for the four of us and since Alia is still under two, we brought Amelie's car seat on board and gave her the third seat, and Alia was our lap child for take off and landing. Once we were in the air and Alia was ready for sleep, we made a pallet on the floor for Alia in front of Amelie's seat and she slept rather happily for 6 hours which is more than most of us slept. Amelie on the other hand had a hard time sleeping in her car seat and awoke from time to time trying to twist and turn onto her belly. All in all, the flight was a thousand million times better this year. Maybe it was me not being pregnant. Maybe it was that they treat you like a human being in business class rather than cattle in coach. But if you've got miles, I think using them up on business class tickets is miles well spent.
So that's where we're at. Turkey. Enjoying a good change of scenery, time with family, new adventures for Alia, and new sights and smells and sounds for Amelie.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Alia is 22 months old
It finally happened. Here I sit at my computer on the 27th of the month and I just realized that I forgot Alia's monthly birthday for the first time ever. It blew past without so much as a realization.
That should clue you in to how busy and how at times overwhelming things have been around here. We're getting ready to take off for our annual visit to Turkey and I suppose the preparations for the trip in addition to all the activity of the household, the month passed unnoticed. So there you go...nobody's perfect.
This month I have felt a lot less than perfect when it comes to parenting Alia. It was a huge relief to me when my Mom came for a visit. I swear up until the day she arrived, I could bet that Alia's goal in life was to defy me and test me for all the waking hours. That said, it's getting better. Although there were days that I felt like crying from the moment I got up, that is just one side of Alia. The other side? The one that uses her smarts for good versus evil? Well, she is a delight.
First of all, the words just keep coming. Mango, knees, wine, nuts, bus, eyes, nose, ears, duck, quack, doggie were all learned within a couple of days...some within minutes of the others! She is getting a little more comfortable around other kids and often will wave hello when she sees another child. Unfortunately, she waves endlessly and sometimes the other child will walk away without acknowledging her or will swat at her ever-waving hands. It's tough being a baby/toddler!
Alia is tall. Most people think she's 3 instead of not-yet-2. She wears a 3T in most clothes, and a size 8 shoe! Ajay jokes that she should just share my shoes, but I tell him it's not the same 8.
If there is one theme for my life with Alia, it would be complicated at the moment. She tests me. She resents my attention on Amelie. She still slaps and kicks. She is given time-outs. But she is also a prankster, a jokester, a little girl with a punchline at the ready. She is beautiful. She is quirky. She is very bright. Alia is healthy. Alia likes healthy foods, but not NOT meat. No way! Avacados, yogurt, cheese, and milk are staples. She also likes oranges and bananas, raisins, and nuts (cashews and almonds specifically). Alia likes more than anything her Daddy. Her world begins and ends with him. And that makes him a very lucky man!
That should clue you in to how busy and how at times overwhelming things have been around here. We're getting ready to take off for our annual visit to Turkey and I suppose the preparations for the trip in addition to all the activity of the household, the month passed unnoticed. So there you go...nobody's perfect.
This month I have felt a lot less than perfect when it comes to parenting Alia. It was a huge relief to me when my Mom came for a visit. I swear up until the day she arrived, I could bet that Alia's goal in life was to defy me and test me for all the waking hours. That said, it's getting better. Although there were days that I felt like crying from the moment I got up, that is just one side of Alia. The other side? The one that uses her smarts for good versus evil? Well, she is a delight.
First of all, the words just keep coming. Mango, knees, wine, nuts, bus, eyes, nose, ears, duck, quack, doggie were all learned within a couple of days...some within minutes of the others! She is getting a little more comfortable around other kids and often will wave hello when she sees another child. Unfortunately, she waves endlessly and sometimes the other child will walk away without acknowledging her or will swat at her ever-waving hands. It's tough being a baby/toddler!
Alia is tall. Most people think she's 3 instead of not-yet-2. She wears a 3T in most clothes, and a size 8 shoe! Ajay jokes that she should just share my shoes, but I tell him it's not the same 8.
If there is one theme for my life with Alia, it would be complicated at the moment. She tests me. She resents my attention on Amelie. She still slaps and kicks. She is given time-outs. But she is also a prankster, a jokester, a little girl with a punchline at the ready. She is beautiful. She is quirky. She is very bright. Alia is healthy. Alia likes healthy foods, but not NOT meat. No way! Avacados, yogurt, cheese, and milk are staples. She also likes oranges and bananas, raisins, and nuts (cashews and almonds specifically). Alia likes more than anything her Daddy. Her world begins and ends with him. And that makes him a very lucky man!
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