New Friends - Old Friends

We saw some special friends this week that we've known since college. Here, Naomi gets hugs with Lisa and Sofia, and kisses Elijah goodbye. We love you!

Playtime

18 months

Naomi turned 18 months a couple of weeks ago.

Tonight, she gave her babydoll kisses as she put her into bed. She eats apples (see picture), and asks for all kinds of things. Her vocabulary is growing so much. Tonight she kept saying "Max" as we read Where the Wild Things Are. She says hi, bye, box, book, apple, all done, more, mama, dada, shoes, juice, milk, no, yes, mine, this, bath, teeth, blueberry, broccoli, banana, o's (cheerios), snack, music, diaper, bird, tree and "mai" for "cat" (because of Maya, our cat) plus many others that I cannot remember. She loves to have music on, she likes to dance. She loves to draw - and makes a hand sign to ask for drawing like she is pantomiming. She likes to take walks and go outside and swing and go down the slide. She knows sign language for more, milk, all done, bird and diaper. She works hard at playing, but has also recently liked the one baby einstein video we have that show animals - but she always asks for the part where they sing Old MacDonald. (She says e-i-e-i? and claps like they do at her school when they sing it!). She has many thoughts and ideas running through her head, that it is fun to get to know her.

She is also possessive, and independant, and like any toddler likes to own everything in sight. She will fight for what is hers (or not hers), and then give hugs or kisses. Sometimes she still wakes up at night, and needs a pat on the back. And we're going to have to lose the pacifier for sleeping eventually.

My goal in the last year has been to find some balance to time with her and work and life. And I am so grateful for the time I have with her. I feel that I am able to have a handle on her life in a good way. I am also glad she has time at her school. She likes her teachers, and the other kids. Today they told Mark that she was a helper - telling the other kids "no" when they were drawing on the walls or taking the wrong bottle, and caring for the younger baby visiting who is about to move up to her room. She comes home covered in paint and glitter (which stays stuck to her head for days). And as excited as she is to see me when I pick her up, she is as excited to leave for the day and go to school. Mornings we tell her too early that its a school day, she is standing at the front door saying "bye bye" over and over while Mark and I are trying to pack the last of our things.

Random Pictures

(This is broccolli from our garden. We actually caught her breaking pieces off and eating it while we were outside. She helped Mark pick it and then wanted to eat more.)

Camping

Last weekend we went camping! It was Naomi's first time to go. We picked a perfect cold weekend. Actually, it was beautiful during the day - great for a couple of hikes. We went with Mark's sister Christa and her husband Andrew and his family. Andrew has the amazing talent of cooking with a dutch oven on the fire - chicken pot pie and cake! Naomi enjoyed being outdoors.

Naomi's Baby

Naomi got a baby doll for Christmas from her Nana and Pop Pop. She really loves her. At first she played her standard "night night" game - putting the baby to bed. Then in the middle of playing, Naomi ran off and came back with... a diaper! This morning Naomi wasn't as interested in eating herself, as trying to feed her baby her water and oranges. I tried to introduce pretend food (yes, the red lego), but that wouldn't do. Oh the love.

Little Red Riding Hood

A Rockin' Tea Party

Christmas

Mark and I talked a lot about what to do for Naomi this year for Christmas, and we settled on Legos, the big block kind. I actually think that Mark got them for himself - he is so excited about playing Legos! And I am too, truthfully. There is something about buying toys that brings up all the lego-playing memories of each of our childhoods.

Last week I was at IKEA, looking around for stocking stuffers, and found a doll bed that I couldn't resist for Naomi. I knew she would like it, because she loves to play pretend, and put her animals to sleep, and pretend to take a nap herself (this is well documented in a previous post). As it turns out, her Nana bought her a doll - so it was perfect! But the secret appeal for me, was that I was going to have to pull it out Christmas Eve and put it together, set it up, and position it just right under her stocking for Christmas morning. Just like Christmas was crafted for us growing up, now its my job to create this magical season for my baby.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! The weekend before the weekend before Christmas, we took Naomi out to get a Christmas tree, and then decorated it. She helped Mark put the star on top, and brought us the ornaments -- faster than we could get them on the tree! It was fun to see her particpate a lot more than I expected. She has continues to bring us ornaments from the tree - long after its been decorated!

We hope your Christmas was lovely and restful and full of fudge and cookies.