SP: Second Week!

(BTW, for those others who have been reading this, I skipped yesterday b/c I actually got to talk to E on the phone! Unfortunately, G was so wiped out from not having a second nap that she was already sleeping and we were having issues with skype so I didn't end up getting her up to talk him.) 

I've survived my first week of single parenting, and I must say it's hard. I'm tired a lot more, and have to remind myself to rest more. Plus, I'm so fortunate that E does soooo much to help me, not only w/ G, but around the house as well.

We missed our bible study this morning b/c G slept in (probably from missing one of her naps yesterday!). By the time she woke up, I figured that we'd miss the entire bible study by the time we got there. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that today was a social, so even though I would have missed the bible study, I still would have been able to hang out with the other ladies. Oh well.  So we just had our usual breakfast at home (multi-grain oatmeal w/ mangoes, again, b/c I have been too tired to cook the pears).

Lunch didn't go over so well for some reason (lentil soup w/ yogurt, which she inhaled last time), so we went out to run errands. I seem to be more forgetful these days (not entirely my fault, sometimes the store doesn't have what I want/need so I have to go back) and end up having to make multiple trips back to the same stores. Lately, I've been putting G in the shopping carts, as it's easier for her to take naps at home and then go out (translate: it's harder for her to nap while out b/c she wants to see everything!), so since she's awake, she might as well be in the cart instead of me Ergo-ing her. G loves being in the shopping cart, I have her snacks with her, and she loves being able to look at everything and everyone. She smiles and waves at people, and grabs at things (like oranges, today).  At the grocery store, she helped give the cashier our shopping bag (which she had been pulling up from the back of the shopping cart) for bagging up our groceries.

For dinner, a friend came over (her husband is out of town too) and brought us dinner (yay!), and after G went to bed, we watched a new favorite movie, Stardust (a modern Princess Bride).

This picture was taken while I was trying to cook some veggies for our dinner and G was playing in her area. I always try to look over every now and then, especially when it's quiet, to see what she's doing, and this is how I found her:

It was so funny I couldn't resist grabbing the camera. Just after I took this picture, she started to fuss so I had to help her out.

SP Day 7: What happened to my baby?

One week down and two more to go!

Reading the updates from E and other teammates about their work in the China orphanage give me strength to go on, knowing that our sacrifice is changing lives in these little kids. Reading about what they are going through brings me to tears.

So... what happened to G? I have no idea! Some one seems to have switched my fussy eater baby to a baby that eats a lot, and quickly! I think now I have an idea of what it is like for other moms, and it's soooo nice! This morning's mango oatmeal breakfast was fairly routine. I had decided that G would have lunch "on the go" after her morning nap, while I picked something up from the store, so after her 3.5 hr nap (wow!), we headed out stocked with grapes (cut in halves or quarters, peels on, I discovered she can handle them cut with peels when she was "stealing" them out of her friend's snack cup Saturday!), cheerios, and bread. She ate all her grapes and about a third of her bun, which was pretty amazing! 

It was late when we got home, but I still decided to put her down for a quick nap, so she slept an hr, and for dinner, it was like she hadn't eaten in DAYS!! She had about 4 oz of yogurt mixed with lentil soup (her new favorite), for a total of about 6-7 oz. I didn't think she'd be able to finish it all when I realized how much I had mixed together, but started feeding her anyways. About 15 minutes into her meal, she had finished over half of it! She also fed herself some soup too, but gave it up after a bit because it wasn't going in fast enough! After she finished her soup, she also had some organic cheerios and puffs (like rice crispies but whole grain and no sugar), and even some oranges.

Look, I'm a big girl and I can feed myself...

... with no hands, too!

And now I cand smear all the rest of the soup all over my face!

It's so funny to be messy!

Thanks Auntie M & Uncle R for the homegrown oranges!

I can't remember if I posted any pics from the Easter party, but I will do it tomorrow if I haven't.

SP Day 6: Lemons!

G and I went to a BBQ today for a friend who is leaving soon for Cambodia to work with victims of human trafficking. The food was so good that G ate 2 teriyaki meatballs, a bite or two of tri-tip, and a piece of chicken (all I got of it was the charred part I didn't want her to have). She also marginally ate a few pieces of noodle/macaroni salad, but mostly I was impressed that she ate the meatballs. In fact, I'm not even sure I got to try it b/c she ate it all!

The bbq was tiring, G totally crashed out on the way home, and I was tired too, so after putting her in her crib (after changing her diaper too b/c it was her second poop of the day), I took a nap too. She ended up sleeping for 4.5 hrs! Which was great, b/c I prob slept for almost 4 of those hrs too! We both totally needed it. 

After a nice snack of blueberries and strawberries, G and I went outside for a little walk and picked some lemons from our tree. Here she is helping me to wash them.

For dinner, we had pizza (organic spinach & tomato with tofu). Here's G "helping" me prep dinner. Ok, she's just playing with the box, but at least it entertained her while I was getting dinner ready. BTW, she ate 2, yes TWO, whole slices (minus crust). And yes, she's definitely mommy's girl, she ate them dipped in (organic) ranch dressing :) YUM!! She also had more strawberries and blueberries with dinner. 

Overall, a very good eating day for G. (In case you were wondering, breakfast was organic multi-grain oatmeal with mango and organic cheerios.)

SP Day 5

Yesterday, we mostly stayed at home, and made a quick trip to Whole Foods for organic milk. I should have just picked it up from Safeway the day before, but I wanted to get the small container, which Safeway didn't have. But it would have saved me an extra trip, oh well. I was frustrated with G because she wasn't eating her breakfast, but figured out she was just really tired, so I ended up putting her down for a nap, and she finished her breakfast at lunch. We had home group tonight, and she LOVED her black beans, corn, rice, carnitas pork mixture, eating it all, and even having secons of corn! 

Today we had our big Easter party with the other little kids in her playgroup (my moms' group). The Easter egg "hunt" was sort of just a see and grab, just a 'arrive and see some eggs appear at your feet' sort of thing, but there were lots of plastic eggs (some whole, some opened) scattered all over the grass, along with lots of cheerios and goldfish too... 

I did G's hair in braids just for the event! Here's a pic of it from the back, it was done while she was eating breakfast, in her high chair.

She's free standing more and more, and taking steps too. Soon, soon.

Look! I can open these things and eat the stuff inside! (Cheerios and Cheddar Goldfish)
Here she is cruising around with one of her friends.
One of her birthday toys is a wood animal puzzle. Apparently she likes to walk around with the  bird in her mouth... (BTW, if you ask her where the bird is, she will look toward the window!)
New food discovery: salad leaves! I give her the darker ones or the spinach, as they have more nutrition. And she's not just sucking off the dressing, she will actually eat the whole leaf!
I had to change her entire outfit when we got home because I discovered an entire Cadbury chocolate egg melted inside the back of her onesie. At first I just thought it was on the back of her neck and hair, but as I was changing her diaper, I discovered what looked like a blow-out (leaky poop) up her back and out the diaper, but it smelled like chocolate and I could see the wrapper still mixed in. I should have taken a picture before washing it out, oh well!

Single Parenting: Day 3

I'm not sure I can keep up this every day blogging schedule, but we'll see.

The weekend before E left for China, we also had a Little Gym Spring party. Here are a few pics of what G is currently doing in her class. The rock wall was higher than it normally is, probably for the bigger kids, but that did not deter G from climbing up several times.  

She also loves the bar and balance beam and rings. She can now do rolls on the beam, as well as over the bar.

I mention this because she had her Little Gym class today. The new thing we tried today was rolling on a GIANT wheel (it really was giant, maybe 4 ft in diameter!) and then doing a forward roll on the other side. Too bad I didn't have the camera with me in class. Next time. She also climbed up the rock wall several times today.  

I managed to get G on a good schedule today, breakfast at 9ish, nap for 1.5 hrs, lunch at 12:15, then class and picking up a few things at the grocery store, a little play time at home (with her new Duplo Lego blocks, yay!), nap for 2 hrs, dinner at 6:45 with her favorite friend (the one she shared a high chair with). G also started her weight gain supplement today (it came in the mail this morning during her nap, so only her lunch, snack, and dinner had it). We'll see how well it works... it seems to dissolve well in soups and yogurt, but not so well to coat it over strawberries!! 

Oh, and for E reading this in China: G still fussed again this morning when I went to get her, but not as much as the previous 2 days. She still misses you and we talk about you all the time.

Single Parenting: Day 2

I managed to get G up and out for bible study this morning, which is a feat in itself. Bible study is at 9:15 (I'm never on time), and because it's so early for G (and me), we usually need E to help us in the morning. I was late, but at least I still made it. One of the reasons I didn't want to miss it was because this is one of the few places where I can drop off G at the nursery. She always cries when I drop her off, but always eats her breakfast and loves playing with everything there and has a great time.  

G only had one nap today, and I'm wondering whether she's getting more and more adjusted to only wanting to sleep in her crib and not being Ergo'ed out. If so, that will be unfortunate, as I take advantage of her sleeping in the Ergo to run errands like grocery shopping. Yesterday she refused to sleep when we went to Costco, and today she refused to sleep when we went to Target. 

Anyways, for dinner, we went over to some friends' house, and G had a great time playing with their kids. Apparently, G's shirt made a great surface for sticking checker pieces onto it... poor girl had no idea what they were doing. (We're laughing WITH you, yes, WITH you!)

Going on a little shopping trip, buying blocks and little books.

These pictures were taken last weekend, which was super busy. Here we are at Lullaby Lane, G is testing out a cool stroller (actually, we were there picking up a replacement crib and testing out car seats, but I just HAD to put G into the Stokke stroller which I totally have stroller-envy over)

Then, we stopped by a friend's house to visit, since they lived close to the store. This is G's first encounter w/ Lego (Duplo) blocks, which she quickly figured out how to take apart. I was really impressed and happy when she also was able to put two back together. Now the Lego obsession can begin for the next generation!!
Then we went to another friend's house for a sandbox/backyard playdate. G didn't like the sand at all (this was her second time to encounter it, she didn't like it the first time at the Children's Discovery Museum either). However, she did really enjoy riding around in the wagon.

G's going to hate us for taking so many pictures of her with food stuck on her face, but I just can't help it, it's so funny and cute!
You probably didn't know that this high chair can also be a double high chair! G and her best friend.

Single Parenting: Day 1

Bye bye, Daddy!

E left late last night (early this morning) for China. He's going with a group from church to help out at a new orphanage for disabled children, and will be there for 3 weeks. I will be trying to update this blog more often so that he can see what G's up to while he's gone. It is his first time away from her since she was born, and the longest he'll be away from me since we were married.

This morning, when G woke up, she was hysterical. And not in a good funny way. Normally, G wakes up around 7-8, which is also when E wakes up, so he retrieves her from her crib and brings her to our bed for me to nurse her, then takes her back to her crib to go back to sleep for a few more hours. This morning, I went to get her and brought her back to the bed. And she became very upset and didn't want to nurse, but was just hysterical crying and writhing around. After a few minutes of not being able to console her, I set her down on the floor by her exersaucer and went to the bathroom. By the time I came back, she had calmed down, and I brought her back to bed and was able to nurse her. She then slept until 11:30.

Today we had a picnic lunch (G's breakfast) in the park with two other friends. Then we went to Costco (yes, E went there yesterday for me, but I wanted to get more stuff and was in the wrong direction to go to Whole Foods), where I expected G to nap while I shopped. She apparently had other plans and didn't sleep until we got home and I put her in her crib, but at least she had a nice long nap. My women's group met at my house tonight so that I could put her to bed at a normal time, which worked out well, since they ended up staying rather late (it was a good time of catching up and sharing). 

I'm considering adjusting her schedule and not letting her go back to sleep in the morning so that she can have meals at more normal times. But that also means that I would have to get up earlier too.