Can You Blame Him?

It was a long day and my little goober found that warm water mighty lovely.

Teaching Tastefulness

I remember reading that in France, mothers teach their daughters how to dress well with very small wardrobes.  They are taught what pieces they need and how to put them together simply and tastefully.

I wonder what the French CPS would do with this.

Oh, and of course, it was 90 degrees Fahrenheit that day.  For those of you who can’t see it clearly, she’s wearing a double layered knit frog scarf around her neck and frog mittens on her feet.

I’m Such a Dork

When DD was two, we bought her her first 24-piece puzzle.  But that wasn’t until I’d gone to multiple stores to find the most suitable puzzles (fruitlessly, as I was being a perfectionist) — hoping to find 14-piece puzzles, wholesome themes, etc. .

Yes, I am retentive sometimes. 

So we sat her down and did a puzzle for her.  I think to her, it was a kind of magic — all these pieces coming together to make a picture.  She’d ask us to do it over and over.

She immediately wanted to help do one.  I carefully explained how we separate the edge-pieces, how we turn the pieces face-up, bla, bla, bla.  I’m such a dork.  I SO didn’t get it.  It’s a year later.  She still doesn’t start with the edges.  She starts with the eyes…always the eyes.  I think that she’ll be doing puzzles for years before she does it the way I instructed her that day one year ago. 

I have much to learn as a parent about how kids acquire knowledge, understanding and wisdom.

Until then, I remain a dork.

Baby Carrying

This is a Mei Tai.  It sure makes baby-carrying handy.  In fact it makes cooking or gardening in the evening very baby-friendly too.  

 

The one situation that it doesn’t seem to work too well for is sitting.  Oliver gets irritated being stuck in one place, where as he is often lulled into a stupor by being this close to me and having that lovely rocking sensation as I  dig a ditch or pick up clutter. 

When Kate was around one year old, I’d “work” or walk her to sleep this way each evening.  It was lovely for me to be able to take a quick walk in the evenings (and for her too, I hope).

Warning:  the following picture shows super-yummy baby yum yums. 

 

Kari over at Peaceful Beginnings / Our Real Village  helped me try out several and then trained me on how to use this one, spotting me as I learned to put Kate on my back.   Kari is the reason that so many women in my area were successfully able to sling or wear our babies.  Texas has her now.  Having another woman teach you how to get the baby in place and adjust everything to the baby’s (and your) satisfaction is the difference between small shops with capable staff and that baby super-mart with the inflated prices (and one sling style) …who shall go un-named.

My mei tai is by Baby Hawk .  Other baby wearing items that I would recommend are

1)  The Moby  (check craigslist for these) 
2) The Ergo

It’s going fast

July, 2006

July, 2007  

 

  July, 2008

July, 2009

Titivation, Fashion and Frippery

Noun:  titivation -  sprucing up; making decorative additions to

Noun:  fashion -  Something, such as a garment, that is in the current mode

Noun:  frippery -  1. Pretentious, showy finery. 2. Pretentious elegance; ostentation. 3. Something trivial or nonessential.

 Women’s interest with clothes and appearance starts young…and seems to be hard-wired ( for most, but not all females).  For my three year old, it looks like dressing and re-dressing the paper dolls from this book. 

 

But it also looks like playing dress-up, or doing her own hair.

The visual reference to Harry Potter is accidental, though not regretted.

 

And a bunch of her make-up activity is about figuring out who she is and who mommy is.  Personally, I have little idea how I’m going to explain to her that it was fine for her to wear lipstick at two, though not at twelve. 

 

But ultimately, even if DD(3) becomes the Coco Chanel of the 21st century, what she needs to understand is that while all of this is fun stuff (and it may even be a career), life is about so much more.  Life is this rich tapestry of our relationship with God and with all these other people that have been made in His image.

 

 1 Peter 3:3-4  It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God.

1Timothy 2:8-10 Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.

If one takes 1 Peter 3 and 1 Timothy 2 out of the context of the whole counsel of God, then one could say that women should never wear jewelry; their clothes should be frumpy and of poor quality; and their hair should be boring.  But that completely misses the point of the passage.  Also, the ‘gentle and quiet spirit’  in the 1 Peter passage doesn’t mean that women aren’t feisty,  fun, or adventurous.  It means that they know who they are in the Lord…which is a lot of fancy religious talk for saying that they know who’s God and who’s not…and how precious and valuable that relationship is. 

 

The 1Peter passage is from the New Century Version

The 1Timothy passage is from The Message

Other News for the Relatives

 I love giving sink baths. DS(1)  has been getting them for a while.  But this weekend, DD wanted to join in the fun.   

On the communication front…  For about three weeks now, DS  has been shaking his head “no” and nodding his head “yes”in response to questions.  He’s always talking gibberish and is possibly going to be more of a communicator than DD.  I don’t think it’s an issue of  language confusion from exposure to Russian (he’s had very little), but a matter of personality.

 

Other Silly Firsts: 

On July 3rd, DD had her first Happy Meal and saw her first film in a movie theater (an IMAX Under the Sea type of film).  I was thankful that the Mc Death was located in the California Science Center so that she’s not likely to recognize one when we drive by.    Once more, Yipee!

She Said “Yes”

On July 1st, Kate said, “Yes”. 

Yes to what you ask?  Nothing particularly important…the question was, “Do you want me to bring you a book to read while you sit on the potty?”   See, nothing memorable.

So, what’s the big deal? 

 

She’s NEVER said “yes” before.  Up till now, it was always “Da” (‘yes’ in Russian).  She’s THREE!   Three!   Do you hear me?  THREE!

She says ‘Yes” in Russian and “No” in English. (Da/ No vs. Yes/ Nyet)

From three months until almost one year of age, Grandma Nelly cared for Kate … in Russian four days a week.  Kate was pretty speech delayed in both languages.  She spoke a bunch of words for one week at 14 months and then almost nothing again for months and months and months.   

So, on July 1st, she said “yes”.  On July 2nd, it turned into “Das”.  And on the 3rd, it was back to “yes” again.

 Yipeee.

Updates for the Family

Kate’s favorite dress right now is M’s old girl scout t-shirt. 

Charm and decorum are things we encourage and actively cultivate around here.

 

I have no idea how she took this, but I like it.

A Wee Bairn No More

He’s …

Mr. Kissilicious, Mr. Snugglicious, Sir Poopsalot, My Growly Bear

 

  

 Photos by Kate.