Not really. This picture illustrates what we are feeling every morning at drop-off. I know many parents with kids this age can relate, especially if they started into the daycare system later than the early months. Gripping her lions, tears, scrunched up crying face… Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: In Case You Were Wondering…” »
So it’s Thursday. I could’ve skipped this week but instead I felt I should post this week, since I got some good pictures of Jia playing with chalk and then at daycare. At least, in my opinion (and lack of photog skills), they’re “good”!
This week we’ve been still trying to adjust to daycare. She’s eating really well at lunch and snacks, showing all the kids that she can scarf down corn while the others weren’t interested (Mama pat on the back!), and she’s having a little fun now. The teachers try to take photos when they can, and so far all the pictures of Jia have her two lions clutched in her little fists for comfort. She’s painted, played with cornstarch mush stuff, gone on the 8-kid buggy ride a couple of times, and seems to be bonding with some of the teachers! Other things: Continue reading “What’s She Doing (the day after) Wednesday” »
After the last couple of weeks, it’s nice to be home.
After that one afternoon in daycare, Jia and I jetted off to Charleston SC for my brother’s wedding. Little did I know that Jia was on the edge of her sanity, scared and afraid I would leave her at any turn. We arrived in SC to my mom greeting us at the baggage claim/terminal exit. I got her out of her car seat, hoping she would run over to my mom. She just stayed with me and buried her head in my legs, but I figured that was a normal shy response. No biggie. Then, when mom picked her up, she would start whimpering “Mommy, mommy??” but as long as she was close by me, she would tolerate being distracted by mom. This changed when we walked outside with our luggage to see my dad waiting for us. The minute she saw dad, she started to worry; started to cry. I installed her car seat into their back seat as she wailed and wailed. We kept reassuring her that I was coming with her, but she couldn’t hear me through her tears. I picked her up and placed her in the car seat and she threw up all over herself. This was a first. Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: Happy Birthday, Daddy!” »
Today (Tuesday) was Jia’s first day of daycare. A momentous, emotional, milestone day. Lots of babies head off to day care at around 3 months old, but Jia’s start came at 18 months and 16 days. We’d gotten pretty comfortable with our time together, just the two of us after daddy went off to work in the mornings, but with our move west came what was only a matter of time. Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: First Day!” »
It’s so hard to keep track of all the new things Jia’s learned and done over the past week or so. I barely have any time to write it down somewhere before we are off tempering a tantrum or figuring out where in our new neighborhood we should explore next. Since #SummerofDad is coming to an end soon, I really am going to have to step up my blog game and get back into the groove of doing some real posts here.
A (non pregnant, non female) family friend recently died of Listeria poisoning so I was considering writing about pregnancy and listeria warnings, but I am also considering a post about the hormonal triggers for pregnancy cravings, the physiological readiness of potty training, the link between otitis media and pacifier use, and a couple other interesting topics. Let me know if you lean one way or another. All I can say is, let’s not get into a controversial topic this time! Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: What’s She NOT Doing?” »
Rrrraaaaaaawwwwwwrrrr! (Photo credit: Julie Miesionczek)
Week 13 finds us in Seattle, staying amongst family and long-time friends, at the tail end of our summer-long trek. We’re here for another couple of days, enjoying the Pacific Northwest’s amazing sunny, cool summer. For touring, we’ve been to Discovery Park, Pike Place Market, the Chihuly Art Museum and the Central branch of the Seattle Public Library—all of which are great (except that Pike Place Market, which was a bit infested with tourists at the moment, but is probably great on a grey October day).
In the world of Gabe, you don’t have to be his primary parent to know that this is the week that he discovered his voice. And that he can be loud. And soft. But mostly loud. Fun!
Continue reading “#SummerofDad 13: Coming in Loud and Clear” »
Lined up duckies: Jia duck, Daddy Duck, and Mommy Duck
Sorry for the delay, we just got internet up and running today.
We have packed up our cozy 4000+ sq foot home in Maryland, traveled 3000+ miles to California, unpacked, re-organized, and gotten “comfortable” in a short 6 days! It seems like it should’ve felt like a whirlwind, but really it feels like it has been a steady pace of chaos. I don’t even know where to begin this post, but basically we are living in Torrance, CA with a 1 mile trek to the beach (plus about 5 blocks of walking to the beach access) and have found ourselves in a really great apartment complex that is smack dab in what I feel is the best spot in the neighborhood. I’m sure there are plenty of neighborhoods in Torrance, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach that feel similarly, but I’m really pretty happy with where we ended up. One block away is a big playground and even bigger park with a public library right next to it, a grocery store, pharmacy, and even about a half mile walk away are a bunch of restaurants and quick food spots. There’s some healthy hippie salad/smoothie joint I am eager to check out eventually. Why Torrance? The school district. And prices are reasonable considering it is in a great school district. Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: Greetings from Sunny CA!” »