lucy go to library pick new book about cats, take pumpkin book back....

12/1/11
so our little bean is now, constantly, speaking in sentences (omitting the conjunctions most of the time) and it is amazing to see this development unfolding.

i really began thinking about cognitive development awhile back while using animal flash cards with lucy; she is an animal lover and obsessed with the cards.  there are several categories of animals from insects to mammals with many representations of most classes.  i noticed the errors that she was making demonstrated classification.  allow me to clarify:  lucy would confuse grasshopper and ant (insects); squirrel, chipmunk, and mouse (rodents); tiger, jaguar, and lion (cats).  i love witnessing cognitive mapping and watching lucy's mind grow and make connections.  tbc.

life in eureka

our lives changed dramatically once we relocated to eureka from jacksonville: we left great friends behind, lucy's diet was finally figured out, and we embraced our beautiful new surroundings.  we met some really nice people here and caught up with some old friends; we visited our much closer family and they visited us; we hiked, biked, visited the wonderful farmers' market, some farms, watched the cows go by and all in all spent our time enjoying our surroundings.  and then we found out:  we were going back to florida.  the  news came right about the time lucy made some new pals, i found some fantastic running routes, and we were settled.  so now, at this late date, i will update lucy's blog and tell of the adventures in eureka.  stay tuned.

who's a big girl?

"...she will never sleep in her own bed; she will never get out of your bed;  you are going to regret letting her sleep with you; you are crazy to allow her to sleep with you guys..."  

these are but a sampling of the comments from people, aka the naysayers, once finding out we were co-sleeping with lucy; and let me be clear people actually asked where she was sleeping. honestly, after hearing so many opinions what i should do, how i should do, when i should do, i became the jaded parent; the parent who deliberately follows their own path without concern of what others may think. i guess i cannot say this enough:  i really don't give a rat's patootie how others raise their young (with obvious exceptions, of course) and i give even less of a rat's patootie of others' opinions of how i raise mine.  except when i nay-say the naysayers. and, with glee,  perversely enjoy saying:  naysayers, you were wrong.

since little missy had turned the big oh-two and demonstrated confidence, self-assuredness, and independence, we decided it was time for her to try out her own room.  and the timing was perfect as we had just moved into our new house so the transition would likely be a natural extension of the changes we all were experiencing.  our plan was straightforward:  we would use shaping to make the transition easier as i just knew she would be reluctant to move out of our room.  lucy and i headed to target to pick out her sheets for her new big girl bed and jeff and i readied ourselves for the first step of who's-turn-will-it-be-to-sleep-in-a-single-bed-with-a-restless-toddler.  so 7 pm rolled around and i was off to lucy's room to help her to sleep. while lucy was excitedly chattering about her new sheets and big girl bed, i was anticipating the newborn-mommy-brain syndrome that soon would befall me.  after a few books and the trifecta (kiss, eskimo kiss, and huggy), lucy was ready for sleep and that she did.  until 6:30 the next morning.




 

my little bean is two plus a smidge (and we made it....)

so needless to say, we figured it all out:  lucille has grown significantly and she finally surpassed the 20lb mark!  not to mention her personality, while always wonderful, has blossomed.  she just feels so much better!  no more screaming, crying in pain.  no more sleepless nights because of tummy aches.  no more wondering.

even though i planned on weaning the bean at 2, i have continued to nurse.  mostly because she is so picky and i need to know she is receiving the nutrition she is lacking from her solid diet.  she is trying more foods but sticks to the staples:  eggs, avocados, potatoes, 'cheese sticks', and 'mac and cheese'.

i will be publishing a blog (per a good friend's suggestion) that will be two-fold:  allergy friendly info including recipes and preferred foods; and crafty stuff including scrapbooking stuff and home projects.

my little bean is two plus a smidge (part 3)

shock.  shock and angst and fear and anger swept over mommy and daddy; would they ever be able (or willing?) to forgive themselves for the poison that bean was ingesting at their very hands?  after regaining some semblance of composure the two distraught parents threw everything containing the offending ingredients into the garbage (save anything unopened as it was donated post haste to the nearest food bank).  panic washed over the two while staring blankly into the empty pantry and fridge, all that remained was a scant selection of spices, condiments, and of course produce; what in the world were they to feed the picky, picky little bean?!?  

one crucial bit of information recalled the the parents to the realm of rationality:  lucy had not reached age of majority (aka 2) and so was still relying on mommy for a main source of nutrition!  ohhhhh, ya, wait.  wait just one minute.  if lucy could no longer ingest gluten, casein, and soy.... then.  uh oh.  

my little bean is two plus a smidge (part 2)

fast forward about 6 months:  bean's tummy troubles worsen (or at best did not change).  this little florida family found out that they would be moving soon to california and so bean's mommy decided it best to revisit the doctor.  again the suggestion was made to draw blood to assess the possibility of allergies and this time mommy relented; no more time could pass with the obvious discomfort of her little bean.  so bean, mommy, and daddy made their way to the lab.  concern, or at the very least, discontent washed over the faces of the personal at said lab once they realized their victim, uh, patient.

as bean's turn became imminent it became glaringly obvious that trepidation filled the lab as she was passed from one technician the the next until one brave soul came forward to do the 'deed'.  mommy, as any mama bear would, gave a warning of touch-my-baby-you-will-suffer the consequences as daddy bear tried to diffuse the situation.  mommy and daddy held bean's hand as the offending apparatus was stuck into her arm.  all mommy could think of was there were many, many other little cubs out there who had it much worse with the constant poking and prodding to investigate disease (though these abstractions did NOTHING to assuage the anxiety for bean's mommy).

bean cried, mommy and daddy lost their heart.  bean's morning song was sung in chorus while the deed was undertaken.  and, believe it or not, she was the one who fared the best; mommy and daddy cried, the technician comforted, and the receptionist apologized profusely.  three days later mommy received the call:  bean  is allergic to gluten, casein, and soy.

how, oh,  HOW could this happen???

my little bean is two plus a smidge (part1)

once upon a time there was a little family who lived in florida: a mommy, a daddy, a furry son, and the cutest little baby bean that ever was.  it is a good thing that that little baby bean was so cute because she was the neediest little bean anyone had ever met.  her mommy and her daddy did everything they could to keep her happy and comfy.  one day, the little bean went to see her doctor who recommended a blood test to find out if the bean was suffering from any allergies; bean's mommy could not bring herself to subject her little body to a blood test as from reading as much information as she could regarding allergies she decided that bean could not possibly be suffering from food allergies!  (besides, bean's mommy tried an elimination diet to see if that made bean more comfortable).

so one day bean, daddy, and mommy decided to take a long plane trip to washington to visit gramma and papa. and boy, oh boy did bean have the best snacks of her life on that trip: homemade chex mix; crackers and cheese; milk and cookies; peanut butter sandwiches with the crust cut off; and of course, chocolate.  two days after arriving at gramma and papa's house, it became glaringly apparent that bean was having some severe gastro-intestinal issues (i.e. no poo for 3 days).  and when things finally began moving along, bean screamed and screamed and cried so, that mommy was crying right along side of her.  mommy was believed it had to be a one-time occurrence as bean had NEVER had such a problem before; and since arriving in washington she been eating her regular diet of sweet potatoes, bm, milk, and some toast...well so much for what mommy knew or thought she knew.