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| Ready to Walk |
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Day 3
Day 3 of the worst ear infection ever. David has gone back to work and I'm alone with the girl. I tried to be strong and take her for a walk this morning but 1 block into our walk she fell down and skinned her knee. She cried about it for over an hour. I think that it was her teeth, not the knee, that really caused this breakdown. We've spent the rest of the day napping and cuddling on the couch. Flora won't put any weight on her injured leg and refuses to walk anywhere so it's been a pretty lazy day. That's fine with me. Hopefully we'll both feel better tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Car
Flora has always hated the car. When she was little and her car seat was still rear facing one of us had to sit in the back with her or she would scream the whole car ride. Going somewhere alone was no fun. Oh how I wish she was one of those kids who falls asleep in the car.
Things improved a little on her first birthday when I turned her seat around but she would still rather walk everywhere. Everyday when I tell her we're going somewhere her response is, "no car, just walk." She's lucky we live in Portland because we do have a lot within walking distance: 3 playgrounds, the library, a kid friendly coffee shop, and a grocery store. When possible, we do walk but sometimes we need to leave our neighborhood.
David stayed home again today because I'm still recovering from what I have decided is the worst ear infection ever. I had no idea an ear infection could make your whole body feel so terrible but that's another story. Near the end of the day I began to feel a little better and told David that if he took Flora to buy some avocados I would make guacamole and corn tortillas as part of our dinner. They went and I stayed home to rest.
They drove because the grocery store with cheap avocados is not in our neighborhood. (Did you know you can get avocados at Safeway for either 50 or 78 cents depending on the week? The are ALWAYS on sale.) When they were leaving the grocery store David jokingly asked Flora if she wanted to walk home. Of course she did! This kid would always rather walk. Unfortunately, they had the car with them and they were too far away to walk so David explained that he was just kidding an put her in the car. She was so upset they weren't walking that she screamed the whole car ride home and was still screaming when he got her out of the car. It's hard being a toddler sometimes.
She was so angry I couldn't resist taking a picture of her sweet little face.
Things improved a little on her first birthday when I turned her seat around but she would still rather walk everywhere. Everyday when I tell her we're going somewhere her response is, "no car, just walk." She's lucky we live in Portland because we do have a lot within walking distance: 3 playgrounds, the library, a kid friendly coffee shop, and a grocery store. When possible, we do walk but sometimes we need to leave our neighborhood.
David stayed home again today because I'm still recovering from what I have decided is the worst ear infection ever. I had no idea an ear infection could make your whole body feel so terrible but that's another story. Near the end of the day I began to feel a little better and told David that if he took Flora to buy some avocados I would make guacamole and corn tortillas as part of our dinner. They went and I stayed home to rest.
They drove because the grocery store with cheap avocados is not in our neighborhood. (Did you know you can get avocados at Safeway for either 50 or 78 cents depending on the week? The are ALWAYS on sale.) When they were leaving the grocery store David jokingly asked Flora if she wanted to walk home. Of course she did! This kid would always rather walk. Unfortunately, they had the car with them and they were too far away to walk so David explained that he was just kidding an put her in the car. She was so upset they weren't walking that she screamed the whole car ride home and was still screaming when he got her out of the car. It's hard being a toddler sometimes.
She was so angry I couldn't resist taking a picture of her sweet little face.
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| Home but still bummed she didn't get to walk. |
Monday, August 23, 2010
Why do I love my husband?
I love David for any number of reasons. Most recently, he stayed home from work today because I'm sick. All day he's been taking care of our girl, cleaning up the house, doing laundry and to top it off, he made me a watermelon snack while I was napping.
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| How sweet is that? |
Pa
Growing up I was very close to my grandfather. My mom was a young single mom and we lived in her parents house for several years. Pa would pick me up from school, take me out for donuts, have me sit with him for hours in his "computer room," and let me eat chocolate covered graham crackers out of his desk before dinner. When my mom was at work it was Pa, not my grandmother, who I remember taking care of me.
As a young man, Pa fought in WWII. He was part of the Army Air Corps 100th Air Group, nicknamed the Bloody Hundredth because they lost so many men. On December 31, 1944 Pa's B17 was shot down over Hamburg, Germany. He was the Navigator and one of the few survivors from his crew. He spent the remainder of the war in Stalag Luft 1, a German Prisoner of War Camp.
Despite this traumatic experience Pa's love of airplanes continued throughout his life. He built his career around his love of airplanes and continued his pursuit of recreational piloting well into his retirement.
Durring his career years Pa worked for Douglas, later called McDonnell Douglas. His job as an airplane salesman throughout Asia put more stamps in his passports than even most well traveled people could obtain in a dozen lives. His job kept him away from his family more than most and he missed out on a lot of things with his kids. When I, his only grandchild, moved into his house I think he saw it as his second chance to be there everyday.
When I was eleven my mom got remarried and we moved out of my grandparents house; I was angry but continued to have a close relationship with Pa. When I was 16 he died and I was devastated. Then, as though he was giving me a final sendoff, on the day I receive the college degree that he paid for a B17 flew over my head in Olympia Washington. I still miss him and regret that he never got to meet David or Flora. As in love with me as he was, I can only imagine how he would feel about Flora.
Despite his obvious absence in my life I often feel that a little bit of him lives on in Flora because at two years old she is obsessed with airplanes. She points out every plane that passes overhead, even the ones no one else would notice. She often talks about how the clouds are too high to reach and then goes on to tell me how, if she were in a plane THEN she could reach the clouds. There is almost a wistful longing in her little voice. One of her favorite games is to pack up her suitcase and backpack and then get in her cardboard car so she can drive to the airport. I can't help but feel like this fascination with planes was somehow passed on to her from Pa. Who knows, perhaps she too will build her life around her love of airplanes. Regardless of her future, I can't help but look at her now and see a little bit of my beloved Pa.
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| Pa and me in 1984 |
As a young man, Pa fought in WWII. He was part of the Army Air Corps 100th Air Group, nicknamed the Bloody Hundredth because they lost so many men. On December 31, 1944 Pa's B17 was shot down over Hamburg, Germany. He was the Navigator and one of the few survivors from his crew. He spent the remainder of the war in Stalag Luft 1, a German Prisoner of War Camp.
Despite this traumatic experience Pa's love of airplanes continued throughout his life. He built his career around his love of airplanes and continued his pursuit of recreational piloting well into his retirement.
Durring his career years Pa worked for Douglas, later called McDonnell Douglas. His job as an airplane salesman throughout Asia put more stamps in his passports than even most well traveled people could obtain in a dozen lives. His job kept him away from his family more than most and he missed out on a lot of things with his kids. When I, his only grandchild, moved into his house I think he saw it as his second chance to be there everyday.
When I was eleven my mom got remarried and we moved out of my grandparents house; I was angry but continued to have a close relationship with Pa. When I was 16 he died and I was devastated. Then, as though he was giving me a final sendoff, on the day I receive the college degree that he paid for a B17 flew over my head in Olympia Washington. I still miss him and regret that he never got to meet David or Flora. As in love with me as he was, I can only imagine how he would feel about Flora.
Despite his obvious absence in my life I often feel that a little bit of him lives on in Flora because at two years old she is obsessed with airplanes. She points out every plane that passes overhead, even the ones no one else would notice. She often talks about how the clouds are too high to reach and then goes on to tell me how, if she were in a plane THEN she could reach the clouds. There is almost a wistful longing in her little voice. One of her favorite games is to pack up her suitcase and backpack and then get in her cardboard car so she can drive to the airport. I can't help but feel like this fascination with planes was somehow passed on to her from Pa. Who knows, perhaps she too will build her life around her love of airplanes. Regardless of her future, I can't help but look at her now and see a little bit of my beloved Pa.
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| Flora is in her car, headed to the airport. |
Earache
Not Flora's, mine. My girl never gets sick. The only exception would be the fever and tummy troubles she gets while teething. I however, have the worst earache. The pain is unbearable and after giving birth my definition of unbearable pain is pretty narrow. David is taking the day off work today so I can rest and go to the doctor. Thank goodness for good daddies.
Flora has never had an earache but after experiencing this I will have much more empathy when she does. After crying and freaking out because it hurt so bad last night I took some expired vicodin I found in the bathroom. Kids don't get to take narcotics so, next time you child is freaking out because her ear hurts remember that if the pain caused a grown woman to throw a fit your little one really can't help herself.
Here's to healthy kids with healthy ears!
Flora has never had an earache but after experiencing this I will have much more empathy when she does. After crying and freaking out because it hurt so bad last night I took some expired vicodin I found in the bathroom. Kids don't get to take narcotics so, next time you child is freaking out because her ear hurts remember that if the pain caused a grown woman to throw a fit your little one really can't help herself.
Here's to healthy kids with healthy ears!
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| Flora's lucky to have such a good daddy! |
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Pants
Flora is potty trained early, by US standards, and she is very little for her age. I'm happy that she is potty trained and I've come to terms with the fact that she's tiny; my problem is with her pants. Unless she's wearing leggings her pants are always really baggy in the crotch. I know it's shallow but I don't like the way it looks. What size do they finally start cutting pants to fit the child and not the diaper?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Sleep
I spend a lot of time thinking about sleep. I've never been a great sleeper so feeling tired is nothing new but having a child, my child, is different. I do not exaggerate when I say that I haven't had a full night sleep in 26 months. On the very rare occasion that Flora does sleep through the night I am so programed to wake that I still don't sleep well. I hear parents talk about their amazing bedtime routine that keeps their 6 week old child asleep for 6 hour stretches and I laugh. There is nothing magic about their sleep routine; they just have an easy child. I don't know why my child doesn't sleep but I like to tell myself it's for the same reason she started talking at 10 months, charms everyone she meets and goes swimming at the beach in the middle of our living room. It's all just part of her being amazing. You can't always have the good without the bad and my bad is that Flora doesn't want to sleep for fear of missing out. So, i will soldier on knowing that someday my girl will learn to sleep through the night and then my husband and I will re-learn how to sleep through the night. Until then, I will just enjoy her amazingness and try not to get too frustrated when she uses me as a human trampoline at 630am after allowing me only 3 hour stretches of sleep.
Goodnight, little girl. I can hear you back there singing when you should be asleep.
Ready for bed?
Goodnight, little girl. I can hear you back there singing when you should be asleep.
Ready for bed?
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