Glasses!

I had to get new sunglasses today at Target, and well...the kids section was right there! Naomi loves her glasses, and wanted to wear them right away, during a trip to the library..and while playing at home...and in the car.

Overdue

This post is a bit overdue, but the beginning of the month marked two events: Naomi turned 19 months old and I've been at my job for a year.

At the beginning of this blog I wrote about what Naomi and I would do with ourselves - because that change for me was all about her, and making a choice towards family, and making space for all three of us. And I have to say, that I think that it was a good move. Naomi and I have done most of what is on that list. We go to the park. We hang out with friends. She is learning a language (English), eating all kinds of food, and runs, walks, climbs, and slides like a pro.
We have also done a lot of cooking and baking recently as part of our days at home. This has been a goal for some time, but we are being a lot more intentional lately. In this picture, for example, Naomi enjoys black-eyed peas, sweet potaotes, and collard greens (the collards we picked from our garden today!).

So what does more time with her really look like?

1. This morning I was sitting in my room, checking my email, while Naomi was playing in the dining room. I could hear her laughing, and then I saw her in the corner of my eye running to her room, laughing hysterically, with a bucket on her head.

2. At lunch today, the three of us all dancing while sitting in our seats (hmm, yes there is a dancing theme lately)

3. This evening, all three of us spinning in the living room (til Mark and Naomi fell over from dizziness!)

4. This evening, Naomi asking Mark and I each to lay down on the rug, covering us up and saying "night night," and then laying down next to us...and getting up again...and laying down again...

5. At the end of a really sweet snack time where she had been sharing her food with me and chatting, she throws two handfuls of Veggie Booty at me, along with her bottle. Time out for all of us.

I am really thankful for this past year.

DADA!

On Monday, Mark came home from work at noon to work from home. He threw a shirt on a chair, and went to sit outside. Naomi was asleep, but when she woke up and we walked through the living she pointed at the shirt and said, "DADA!"

This morning she woke up asking about him.

The weekend morning of the picture, she pulled the chair over and climbed up to work next to him at the desk.

She's also called ME Dada a few times this week.

She really loves him.

And then she asked me to dance for her while we listened to music and ate waffles at 6:15 this morning. I was missing her Dada today too.

Falling

Don't worry, she was fine!

Jumping

Naomi thinks it is really funny when we jump -- and she tries really hard to also, which we think is really funny. We got the camara out today to record what she looks like trying -- and then she surprised all of us.

Sari

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.)