While Nana Was Here

It's been almost a week since my mom left, and I still haven't recorded all the fun we had that week. It was a busy week. We...

• attended Lenny's surprise party to celebrate his 75th birthday! His office staff had organized a beautiful party at a restaurant near his home. His sister had driven in from Connecticut. There were about 20+ people there, and Len was totally shocked and surprised by it all. It was great.
• On Saturday we met up with our friends Andrew, Isaac, Dave, and Robyn at the Museum of Natural History. It was Tess's first time inside that museum, and she really enjoyed the animal exhibits. We went to Central Park after lunch, and then walked around the upper west side in the cold wind while Tess got a much needed nap in her stroller.
• Sunday we made a delicious vegan feast for Len. He came over for brunch.
• Monday morning, our usual routine began. Tess went to Sandra's and I went to yoga. That afternoon we caught up on cooking and cleaning.
• Tuesday my Mom and I took advantage of our 3 1/2 hours without Tess to run into the city for a little spring/summer clothes shopping. I had great luck and great encouragement. So much better than shopping alone! We grabbed a quick lunch and then rushed back to pick up Tess. That evening I also made it to the chiropractor's since I my Mom could watch Tess.
• Wednesday is music class day, and in the afternoon we hosted our neighborhood playdate at our apartment. My Mom played play dough with Tess and two of her friends for almost an hour! The three girls sat around the table entranced.
• Thursday morning we spent the morning at a new friend's house. (Pictured in the previous post.) During nap, we prepped dinner, and then in the afternoon we went to a neighborhood friend's birthday party. The party food was amazing. There was a beautifully frosted homemade cake, orange blossom and saffron pot-de-creme (custard) "for the kids", french macaron cookies held together with chocolate, Prosecco for the adults and juice for the kids. Can you tell the mother is French, and quite a good cook? That evening I had my final writing class, but Len came over to eat with Eric and Carol. We had made stuffed peppers for dinner.
• Friday morning we stayed home and Nana packed her suitcase. We were all exhausted after that busy week. She left at noon, when Tess was sleeping, and then that afternoon we went to another neighborhood birthday party! That's three cake opportunities in one week! Tess was in heaven!

There was also lots of skyping Baba that week. A fun week to say the least.

Lips

Tess played dress up at one of our playdates last week. An older sister showed Tess how to use some stickers as lips to go with her outfit.

Recovering

Tess has been cutting her two-year old molars. Perhaps this is the reason she's sleeping less at night, or maybe it's the time change. In any case, she falls asleep later and wakes up earlier each day. Last night she tossed in her crib for almost an hour before falling asleep at 9pm. I was so tired, I finally asked Eric to sit with her at 8:45, and I went to bed. I think I was asleep before Tess. It's a good thing I went to bed so early, because she was up at 5am, ready to start the day. (After a 1am wake up.) Grrrr.

Nana Was Visiting

So I have a lot of catching up to do. But I have pictures and stories to tell about our very busy, very fun week. More later.

Dreaming

Tess and I are still fighting colds that have left me voiceless and her with an annoying dry cough. Neither of us are sleeping well and it's getting old. Here's wishing for better nights to come.

Evening Contemplation

I still nurse Tess before bed each night, and I think it's the time when she thinks back over her day and processes new things. She regularly stops nursing to either tell me about something that scared her, something that was super exciting that day, something that made her angry or made her cry, or some memory that makes her laugh. The other night she was super tired and so she kept getting frustrated that she couldn't get the top on a cup. It was making her scream and scream, and finally I took the cup away. That made her cry so hard that she didn't stop all through the time it took me to get her dressed for bed. After nursing for a bit, she finally found the words to tell me, "Mama took cup away!"

One night she stopped nursing to tell me about Eric doing the bicycle exercise from a couple of days earlier. She put her hands behind her head and imitated the motions and everything.

These little windows into her thoughts delight me. And I feel grateful for the time to talk with her about the issues that bubble up at the end of the day.

Conversations

Tess really converses with me, which is regularly amazing. She can tell me about what she wants to do the next day, how she feels, what she wants to eat or play, and more. She can also tell me, "Mama yelled. Not nice when Mama yells!" which was true. But in my defense, we were having our LONG conversation between 2 and 3am, and I finally lost it when she started fighting to get off my lap and go start her day.

We both have some kind of head cold that has moved into our chests causing lots of night coughing. It has taken my voice completely now, and woken Tess two nights in a row for over an hour in the middle of the night. Eric and I are a bit crabby these days. Tess on the other hand is completely hyper. Sigh.

Yesterday Eric took Tess to the bagel shop in the morning so that I could sleep in after being up between 2 and 4am. All day and all night, Tess told me, "Mama, when I wake up, I go outside! Dada take me outside!" I think her memory of this exciting venture contributed to how willing she was to wake up for the day at 2am this morning.

I found Tess making a video with my Iphone...

A Lovely Rainy Day

Today was the first day in a long while that Tess and I had nothing on the calendar. It promised to be a rainy day, so I was a little worried we'd be stuck inside all day, but the rain held off in the morning, so we ventured out for a trip to the library.

Tess was so excited to go to the library, which surprised me, because I can't remember the last time I took her to our library. It's not a great library. I'm usually disappointed with the books we find; it's so overused. Yet she talked about the library all morning and during the whole three block walk. So we were terribly disappointed when we got to the door and found it closed until 1pm.

I decided to take us to a nearby diner to recover from the disappointment and give us something to do that morning. Tess climbed into the seat across from me in a booth, and together we ordered pancakes, juice, and tea. She was thrilled to get a pancake, and I was surprised to realize that she's a fun dining companion.

While we were eating, she noticed the bar chairs. We were at an old ice cream parlor, probably built in the 40s or 50s, and there are leather chairs mounted against the bar. In the middle of the back of each chair is a large button. Tess pointed this out, telling me, "Mama, chairs have belly button. On back!"

After paying, walking toward home, stopping to sit on the duck ride outside a store, playing a bit in our back garden, and finally coming home, Tess was ready for a nap. As soon as she woke up, she told me, "go to library! Mama, I excited!"

We went to the library. It was open. There were a lot of school-age kids, and Tess soon asked to go home, intimidated by them. So we came home where she made me tea and pancakes. We sat at her little table, and Tess would announce when we had finished and run to make us more pancakes.

Lint

As my family can tell you, I have an aversion to feet. Especially dirty feet. I would rather not touch other people's feet ever if at all possible.

Tess, on the other hand, loves not only feet (her own and other peoples'), but she loves to pick the lint out from between toes (her own and other peoples'). So gross.

She regularly insists that I strip off her socks or help her out of her pajamas so that she can "see lint." When she finds something, she says, "something in toes," and when she's finished, she announces, "lint all gone." And then she asks if I'll take off my socks. (shudder)

So if you want to come visit, be prepared to have your toes inspected.

Happy Tuesday

From Tess, who loves to pose for the camera.

"Lots and lots of fun"

When Tess gets excited about something (and this happens regularly), she tells me, "Mama, I excited!" or "Mama, lots and lots of fun!"

Dolly

Tess started dragging out the diapers and wipes for Elmo and her small toy animals.

Then she wanted to put shoes and socks on Monkey.

So I thought it might be time to introduce a doll into her play.

Tess has named her "Dolly." There was a brief moment where she named her "Baby," but she's settled on Dolly now.

March

So it seems that if I stop posting, it turns into a habit. So I'll try to get back into posting.

What's the news at our house?

• It's March. Last March we were staying at friends' apartments while our kitchen was being redone. It was a horrible month of waiting, and it sealed my grumpy feelings about this month that always ends up being cold and long. But this year, I'm more optimistic. It's so nice to be in our own home with a new kitchen.
• I'm doing a 30 day vegan program that I'm very excited about. I'll get weekly recipe lists for inspiration, learn new facts about nutrition, and get lots of tips and ideas for simplifying the buying, storing, and making of healthy food.  Plus, I feel like it will be nice to be pouring my energy into this rather than feeling grumpy about the end of winter. :)
• So far this week has been very sunny. It really makes me feel like spring is here. Until I go outside and FREEZE!
• Tess grew almost an inch. She is also cutting all four of her 2-year old molars. It's like a bone and tooth explosion is happening in her body. She just looks so big to me these day.
• I love two-year olds. So does Eric.
• Tess and I are continuing to go to lots of playdates in our neighborhood. Tess calls it "going to friends' house," and she asks about it every day. 
• My Mom is coming to visit in less than two weeks!
• Eric's job has been really stressful of late. There were some layoffs, and it's created a more anxious work environment. Plus, he's been super busy and can barely keep up with his projects right now. He thinks it will go on for at least 60-90 days.
• Our internet service has been giving us a lot of grief lately and it's annoying.
• Tess has us playing lots of imaginary games these days. She, Monkey, and Eric are "sleeping" on the couch now.

Happy March Everyone.