Kitchen Helper!

When I agonized about going back to work, a coworker with the wisdom of 5 yrs' parenting told me something like, "You'll have the best dishwasher-unloading helper, grocery shopper, etc." (because being at work during the day means quality time and basic chores often overlap.) And it's true.

Loading and unloading the dishwasher always has the Guajolotita gleefully participating. At this point, her efforts are nearly always detrimental to the short-term goal of taking care of the dishes (pulling all the silverware out, on to the floor, is her main self-appointed task) but great for the long-term goal of spending time together, learning the names of different kitchen implements, and having her grow up to be expected to participate in such mundane activities. Or at least, that's the hope.

Also, she has become a not entirely unuseful cooking assistant. She always helps mix eggs for baking or scrambled eggs. She dumps the flour from a full measuring cup into a bowl, and helps mix the contents of the bowl together. She helps sift baking soda into a mixing bowl. She hands me the containers of vanilla and cinnamon when asked. (She doesn't know which is which, of course.)

This weekend, I made huevos con chorizo. Super fast and easy. I got the chorizo started, then sat on the floor with a mixing bowl, whisk, and the egg carton. We were going to use all of the eggs, so I just opened it up, and took one out and broke it into the bowl. Then I asked her (in Spanish) to hand me an egg. I think she knows the word for "egg" from "Are You My Mother," one of her recent favorite books. She handed them to me one at a time from the carton, and watched with great interest as I broke the egg, dumped it in the bowl, and stacked the two halves of the shell together back into the carton. For the mixing of the bowlful (for pancakes it's the bowl of flour, etc.), I asked her for the whisk. She grabbed it and stuck it the bowl and waited for me to grab her hand and help with the scrambling. Then I mixed in a bit of milk, more joint stirring. Then I picked her up so she could watch as I poured the eggs on top of the chorizo and she was so interested (as she always is) as I combined them in the pan and the eggs cooked.

Not to get to long and drawn out, but she also knows how to make coffee! OK, sort of, and with lots of help. First I put the water in the coffeemaker so it's ready to be started. I take out the coffee filters and hand her one, and she puts it in the filter basket. I take out a cinnamon stick and hand it to her, and she puts it in the filter basket too. I replace the filter basket in the coffee maker. Then I fill the grinder with the beans (under her supervision) and together on the count of  "Uno, Dos. TRES!!" we press the grinder. (It's high up on the counter, I have to lift her for this, don't want her messing with those blades herself.) Then we make an inspection and observe how the beans are now polvo, and dump the coffee into the basket (I do that part, under her supervision). Then she presses the button to start the coffee maker.

Since she was 12 months if you ask her anything about "cafe" she will go to the kitchen and point at the coffee maker because she helps me with this every morning. I'm hoping by 6 or so she can make (pre-ground) coffee for us all by herself. :)

Strawberries

The Guajolotita looooooves berries. Especially strawberries. Last year I got some strawberry plants and put them in pots amongst our thicket of mint. (That mint is going to become sentient in a year or two. It's insane.) In the postpartum, back-to-work, unpacking-from-having-just-moved-5-days-before-giving-birth disorganization I created/lived in I DID manage to keep them alive. However, lots of flowers shriveled from lack of watering on hot days and many berries rotted forgotten on the plant.

This year they came up in and all around their pots. After I noticed the plants flower ing from the living room window, I went out and watered them once or twice. Then a few weeks ago I saw the proto-strawberries!

Kiddo pulled the first ripe one off Friday night, and almost every day since. It's so fun to watch her jam the fruit into her mouth and start signing "more" before the juice has even begun to drip off her chin.

(Well, she always does that with berries, even sitting at the table - but it's especially sweet outdoors with home grown ones!)

Words and Phrases at 14 months

I found this draft, she's 16 months today so I'll back date this to 14 months per the title. I probably never published it because it didn't feel complete - which it can never be because every hour it's at least one new word!

She still says all of these at 16 months, though her pronunciation is more refined and "carro" "conejo" and "calle" are all different (of those three, only "calle" would be recognizable to a stranger).

English:
Up
Down
Hot
Ba-ba! (Bye-Bye!)

Spanish:
Mami
Papi
Che-Che (leche) (milk)
Gol! (pelota) (ball)
La-la (Abuela)
Ca: Caballo, Calle, Camara, Carro, Camion, etc...
Ahi esta! (There it is!)

Imitative sounds:
Guau-guau (Perro)
Mraow (Gato/cat)
Meeeeeh (Vaca, although this is the sound a sheep makes)
*tongue clicks* (horse)
Choo-Choo (for trains or cars or any vehicle)

Mami

The sweetest baby ever now says "Mami". Constantly, almost plaintively. And it breaks my heart.

She's NOT talking about me. She wanders around, reciting it to herself. She stares out the car window (while I am sitting next to her on the other side), repeating it over and over. There's barely a pause between iterations: "Mami. Mami. Mami."

Both my suegra and the nanny have coached her on this. During meals or diaper changes, they each recite with long, over-emphasized syllables: "Maaaammmmiii. Paaaapiiii." And since neither Mami nor Papi are around.... well, of course she learned no meaning to associate with the word.

I pointed out to each of them that it doesn't make sense to ask her to say "Mami" when Mami isn't there. But neither one understood what I meant. I should have insisted they stop. :-(

Both my suegra and the nanny are so proud that she says it. I am getting tired of smiling when they mention it.

Sleep training, night Q

I've got to insert another post about nights 14 and 16. But we're around night 29 tonight.

It's only like the 3rd or 5th time this kiddo has slept 6 consecutive hours. And the first opportunity I've had to also sleep those hours. All the other nights, her 6 hr stretches have been 9:30 - 3:30 and I haven't been in bed earlier than 11:30 - 1:30 on those nights.

This week she's been really wakeful again - maybe molars coming in, or maybe habits re-forming without having really been broken in the first place. So I asked The Hottest Computer Scientist in the Universe if he could get up with her tonight. He said sure - but also put her to bed.

Maybe you can see where this is going. She went to bed late because of our own familial disorganization (late dinner -> late bath -> late bedtime) . Once he was putting her down, I thought, "Oops. Never mind, I'll go in the first time she wakes up tonight instead, and he can get up with her after."

Well she's been asleep 5.5 hours. I am awake, with one engorged corn silo boob.

It's leaked long enough that the shape of my torso is soaked into the sheets. We've got quite a busy weekend so I have no idea how I'll be able to add another load to the list of "must accomplish!" laundry, but the mattress cover has to come off ASAP. The real problem here is of course that I WAS EXHAUSTED BUT AM NOT ASLEEP because boob pain woke me up.

There are additional minor annoyances including: why does she sleep on the night THCSITU agrees to get up with her? I am hungry because we had Thai delivery for dinner (and gave the kiddo half my food since THCSITU's order is too spicy). I am awake and so would love to do laundry or work on her baby book - but those things would wake one or both of these people up. Gah.

On another note, I need to take the time to plan and write a celebratory blog post. I don't want this to become a "list of grievances" type blog. Being this kiddo's mom has been more fun - and easier! - than I ever imagined. She's amazing and I am excited to see her sweet face when she wakes up.

Because my other boob just started leaking too. (Really.)

Baby no more

Finally have an official first word:
Agua

Contenders:
Gol
Not
Ah-choo
(She says all of those too, but not with regular context/meaning. Well, Ah-choo is FULL of meaning but not really a word.)

Though I LOVED having a tiny baby, I have noticed that this is physically easier. There are always a lot of things to accomplish, but just not so infinitely many loads of laundry, bottles to wash, minutes (hours) of nursing. Also kiddo can play on her own for ten minutes or more at a stretch. That's never when I desperately want her to so I can finish what I am trying to do, of course, but still a nice development.

On the other hand, the actual parenting is a lot more challenging. When to give in, when to hold firm, when is defiance a result of hunger/thirst/exhaustion and when is it plain old toddler contrariness? And we've only barely begun.

Sleep training, Night 3

SHE DID IT!!!

I will have to write about it tomorrow, because I have no idea if she woke up since I put her down (with 40 min of hysteria) again at 11:17. I think maybe once - vague recollection - but I doubt there was more hysteria.

I'm unfortunately awake anyway (at 5:17 am), with one engorged boob. But that's ok!!

Baby girl has an incredibly runny nose right now, so I thought about giving up and just starting sleep training over in a week when she's healthy. But The Hottest Computer Scientist in the Universe said we should persevere.

And she's still asleep!!!

ADDENDUM: she woke up at 5:55. I went in right away and nursed her, she drank a lot then went back in her crib without a fuss. I put her down & she rolled over and slept. When she woke again at 7:30 or 8, I brought her to our bed for nursing&sleeping. It's 9am and they are both asleep. I gotta finish these Cinnamon Rolls for Easter brunch.