THE GREEN(wald) HOUSE … (growing rosemary & raising a little wolf)

Two years and two months old - My girl is such a little individual.

yes - she picked out that outfit herself (I actually insisted on the green shirt underneath as it was a bit chilly that morning- at least it kind of matches)… she reminds me of punky brewster or rainbow brite…

She says the cutest things now- when I ask her if she wants something - instead of saying “yes” she says “ummmm - sure!” She loves to play hide and seek and will come up to me and say “I want to play hide and seek” and demand “you count to ten - I hide” - then, if I don’t come looking for her right away she says “where me go mommy?” or “ready or not mommy”. She gets a little confused sometimes and covers HER eyes while she is trying to hide - and she always hides in the exact same place - but she thinks she is hiding if she covers her eyes and can’t see me. She loves to cover things (with a napkin or a blanket - or her clothes) and say “where did it go” - when we get dressed she loves to say “where did my feets go?” and “where did my hands go?” and when her dad once told her - “oh no - we will have to go to the store and buy you new hands” -now she demands - “I need to go buy new hands mommy”. She also likes to play peek a boo and will play by herself in the car - she is so cute when she asks “want to play peek a boo with me mommy?” Her inflection is so funny - she really emphasizes certain words and talks in a sing-songy way (like I tend to do). Sometimes she blows me away with things she says that sound so odd coming out of her little body - like “um - I have an idea” and “that would be great”. She loves to talk on the phone and can actually have real conversations now, she usually asks to call GiGi, Daddy, Bubby or Aunt P.

She really loves to sing - she has a CD of kids music- nursery rhymes - that we have to listen to over and over whenever we are in the car. She knows most of the words to at least 20 different songs. But if I dare try to sing with her she usually screams at me “NO mommy - DON’T sing!” Her little voice is so deep and scratchy and she belts out the words to the songs with so much enthusiasm- but she is always a little off key - I’m afraid she will be the one asked to mouth the words if ever in a singing group.

We have been quite lenient in our “no sugar” policy lately - she is getting almost regular “special treats” of organic cookies, sometimes ice cream, and just recently she has discovered the joys of chocolate (she pronounces it “cock-let”).

Mostly this change is due to the fact that she obeys and listens really well when there is bribery and the promise of a “special treat” if she does or doesn’t do something. And I have been a lazy mama, and I haven’t got the energy to argue or reason with her on why she needs to do something - so bribing her has been the easy way out.

She has also been loving going to the park and playing on the slides, swings, and climbing anything and everything. This is another bribe I use often. Usually when putting her down for a nap, I promise a trip to the park if she goes to sleep good like a big girl for mommy. She has been pretty good lately, so we have been going to the park and I hover under the play structure (wearing her brother in a sling or wrap) while she goes crazy climbing, sliding, running and occasionally demanding “watch me mommy”. She has no fear and she is a pretty tough little cookie - she was running at the park the other day and she tripped and fell down and she immediately picked herself up and looked around at some other kids and said to them “I’m ok” and went running off again.

We have started nannying again for Rocco a couple days a week. I wasn’t sure if I could handle it with Sam now in the picture. But he has been such an easy, mellow baby - I just wear him in a sling or wrap and he sleeps or nurses while I go about my normal day and play with (or mediate the play between) Rocco and Rosie. I think sometimes it is actually more of a break for me as Rosie has so much fun with Rocco - I just can sit back and watch them both entertain each other.

Rosie knows all the colors now - but likes to “quiz” me on them - asking me what color something is and when I answer correctly - she praises me with “good mommy”. She can count to 20 and sometimes goes up to 30 with some help and prodding. She knows most of the letters of the alphabet and can recognize her name when written. She still loves to read and can recite a few books from memory while she is pretending to read on her own. We are starting a parent-child class next week at the local Waldorf School near us. It is only 3 hours a day - one day a week for 6 weeks - but I am excited to start some type of organized activity with her - I have just not had enough energy to do it on my own at home.

We don’t really seem to be making any real progress on the potty learning front and I don’t want to push it. She hates wearing a wet or poopy diaper - so that is a good sign. We have been working on her pulling up and down her pants by herself - she can do it sometimes, but gets frustrated and usually ends up whining “you help me mommy”. She still likes to go sit on the potty, pull off a tiny speck of toilet paper - wipe, flush and wash her hands - but she rarely actually goes on the potty - it is more of a coincidence if it happens. Our latest development is the addition of the “poo-poo presents” by the toilet. I went to the dollar store and got a bunch of little presents and individually wrapped them and put them in the bathroom and when she asked what they were - I casually told her they were poo poo presents and when she went poo-poo on the big potty - she could have one. She was excited initially - but not enough to actually try to get a present in the last couple days - so we will see how that goes…

yeah - parenting by bribery (or incentives) - thats been my motto lately…

She also loves doing yoga with me. She will get down on the living room floor and demand “do yoga with me mommy”- which is good for me cuz it motivates me to get off my butt and actually do it myself. We have a kids yoga book with some yoga adaptations named after animals - and we make up our own variations of poses too. She loves doing the butterfly (cobbler pose) - the froggy (squat) the kitty cat (cat-cow) the monkey (standing forward bend) the boat, cobra, downward dog (she uses me for a slide when I am in downward dog too), a pose we call “tickle your toes” that is basically seated forward bend, the birdie (tree pose), bridge, and savasana. We also do some baby yoga with Sammy - moving his arms and legs and exploring his range of motion - and Rosie makes me do the same movements with her too - bicycling her legs and moving her arms up and down and all around.

She is very good at using her manners - usually remembering to say please, thank you, you’re welcome, and always saying bless you when anyone sneezes (or coughs) and saying excuse me when she burps or farts. She will also call me out (and her dad) if I forget to say excuse me - saying loudly “excuse you mommy!”

She is such a joy to be around (most of the time) - when I see her big green eyes and her mop of curls - my heart just swells with love. She is my new best friend - we hang out and play together and talk and share our feelings and secrets and I am so proud of her and I love her so much! When we lie in bed together some mornings and cuddle and I look down at her body next to me I can’t believe I grew her inside me - She is no longer a baby - she is a child, a kid - with her own personality and ideas and opinions. I made this little person and now I am proud to share her with the world. Wow - parenthood is truly amazing!

*edited to add - Joe just got home from 3 days away on a business trip and he told Rosie when he got home “I got you a present” - Rosie’s mouth dropped open and her eyes got really big and she said “You got me a present? That’s cool daddy! Can I get it?”
I laughed so hard….

I’m a lactivist. I kinda hate that word, and that we have to put labels on everything these days. But, as my wonderful husband told me - “you have to stand up for what you believe in”. So, I participated yesterday in a nurse-in (nurse-out?) at a local Applebee’s restaurant because of all the recent hoopla.

In a nutshell, a mother breastfeeding her 7 month old while eating at an Applebee’s in Kentucky was told by a waitperson and manager that she had to cover her baby’s head with a blanket in order to continue to nurse him. She was already sitting in the last booth by the restrooms and facing the back wall. The manager said it was “indecent exposure”. She is an experienced mother (with 8! kids) and says she always tries to breastfeed discretely - so I doubt her whole boob was hanging out or anything. And, I don’t even think that is the issue - I think people are uncomfortable with breastfeeding (for whatever reason) even if there is not one speck of breast showing. People would rather see a bottle with an artificial nipple in a baby’s mouth than imagine that there could be a human nipple in there! Maybe it comes from this country’s puritan background - I don’t know. But it is a mindset that is in desperate need of change.

Thankfully, in my (a little over 2 years of) breastfeeding experience - I have never been discriminated against nor told to stop breastfeeding when in public (or even gotten any dirty looks - to my knowledge). Mostly I have gotten support - when people actually realized what I was doing. I think I am pretty good at nursing in public (known as NIP to my mama friends). I would guess that less than 30% of people I encounter when NIP actually know that I am feeding my baby - usually they just think the baby is sleeping with his face turned in to me.

My best moment NIP was when Rosie was just a few weeks old and Joe and I went out for our first anniversary dinner at the same ritzy hotel we got married in. We were near the back of the dining room and I was still getting used to eating and nursing at the same time. A waitperson came over to me and said “excuse me” and I thought “uh oh” and steeled myself for the confrontation that I assumed was about to occur. She told me that an entire wedding party was about to walk through the restaurant to the ballroom in the back. That’s it. She did not ask me to stop nursing - I’m not sure if she was hinting that she wanted me to stop nursing - but she was really sweet and I just said “thank you” and continued eating and nursing. The cool part was when the parade of people was walking through (I was facing them) one woman came right up to me and said “Good for you!” and gave me a double thumbs up! I was kind of shocked - so I didn’t respond, but that one experience stays with me to this day and even thinking about it makes me feel great.

Nursing is hard enough as it is. It takes a HUGE amount of time and dedication. I don’t ever want anybody to feel that they can’t nurse their baby in public. We really need to change the culture around breastfeeding. The more people see women nursing in public, the more natural and acceptable it will be. That’s why I felt it was important for me to go stand in front of our local Applebee’s with my fellow nursing mama friends and do my part to (hopefully) change the way people feel about seeing a mom nursing her baby. As one of the nurse-in signs said - breastfeeding is nature’s kids meal!

Wow - my boy is big! We weighed him at my midwife’s office yesterday- 16 lbs exactly when completely naked!

Check out that big body! Of course he got oohed and aahed over - and is just the most perfect cuddly chunk of a baby.

Here is the reason for my big healthy boy - the way he spends most of his awake time - his favorite treat - mama’s milk! How appropriate is that shirt? (thanks Aunt P!)

He is such a happy baby - and shows it off now that we have entered the wonderful smiling stage…

He has been smiling in his sleep from the beginning - dreaming of who knows what - but they always seem to be happy dreams…

Now we are finally getting the awake and aware smiles - recognizing my face, giving me looks of love and big gummy grins…
I found out that the best way to get him to smile right now is to gently squeeze his cheeks- moving his full lips into a semi-pucker - while making kissy noises - Is is so amazingly cute!

Look at those dimples! It just makes me want to melt into a big gooey puddle of love…

And check out these blue eyes - I hope they stay that color…

Sam is a very strong baby - he has excellent head control and loves tummy time and lifts his head up and looks around - sometimes he pushes up with his hands and gets his whole upper body off the ground… he is also getting close to rolling - he can go from lying on his back to almost all the way over on his side…

Most of the time he loves his big sister (and vice versa)…

But there are times (like when she wants to poke him in the eye) that he gets a little annoyed with her…

And I still feel a little guilty for not being able to be there for Sam the way I was with Rosie. There are times when I am trying to calm a 2 year old tantrum and Sam has had to fuss and cry for a few minutes before I can get to him- and it always tears me up inside - wishing I could be in 2 places at once…

Luckily, Sam is still a sweet and mellow baby for the most part. He sleeps for sometimes up to 4 hours - wakes and nurses - has a little alert time, needs a diaper change - and then repeats the cycle… His alert time is getting longer, he just sits and stares and is starting to coo and smile and really enjoy his surroundings.

Things are pretty great around our house. Rosie usually gets up around 7am - and Joe gets up with her while Sam and I sleep for another hour or so - then we get up and have breakfast - play a little and maybe watch Sesame Street (or Dora, Diego, Wilbur, Maisy, Curious George - or whatever show Rosie is currently into). Lately we have also been trying to do a little yoga - I help Sam do some baby yoga, and Rosie and I do some poses together too - she LOVES it! Then it is lunchtime, and then naptime somewhere between 12-2 (hopefully for that long) - and if they both end up sleeping at the same time (which rarely happens) I try to lie down for a bit too- but most of the time end up cleaning up or doing dishes or something. After naptime I have been trying to get out of the house while it is still nice - either just in our backyard or to the nearest park for some fun climbing and sliding, or running errands. Then home to see Daddy, make dinner, and bathtime/bedtime around 8pm. After Rosie is in bed, I try to lie down and nurse Sam to sleep, and then we usually barely have enough energy to just lie in bed and watch a couple West Wing episodes on DVD (best show ever!) And then as soon as I turn off the light to go to sleep - Sam wakes up and wants to nurse again - I swear it happens every single night without fail!
And that is my exciting day! I would like to be getting a little more sleep (mostly because I am a light sleeper and I wake up to Joe’s snoring and every little movement or noise that Sam makes)- and have the house be a little less messy (I feel I spend the majority of the day cleaning - at least when I am not nursing)- but other than that - life is great!

I am loving being a mommy of 2 - I love saying “the kids”. I love having a son and daughter. Sam and I had a good talk the other day and I told him he would always be my little boy - a mama’s boy - and he is always going to want to take care of me. At least I hope so…