Riley and Avery

Blogger's being a turd about uploading photos, so I'll post some pictures later...

Well, I've noticed a huge difference in Avery's allergies now that she is eating more table food. I can usually cheat just a little bit and it doesn't come through the breastmilk, but if I give it to her directly, she breaks out in a big way. For instance, I made rice and put in a tablespoon of margarine for the whole pot. Avery ate less than 1/4 cup of the rice and broke out with a horrible rash. The bad part is that she is old enough now to scratch with her nails and can do a lot of damage. It used to be that she would rub her face on me or on the bedsheets. Let me do the math...so she ate approximately 1/10th of a tablespoon of margarine.

We took a break and went to Borders. We were having fun until Riley threw up in the kids section. Twice. Fun. Then she threw up on herself in the car. And then in the bathroom sink when I was cleaning her off when we got home. It seems that the two whole bowls of pineapples that she ate before leaving didn't agree with her. Once she was done throwing up, she was done, no sickness. By the way, second-time-around pineapples have got to be one of the worst smells on earth. I don't wish it on anyone. She went to bed with a bowl and a towel, but nothing happened. When I asked her this morning if she was getting better, she replied "actually I'm already better." I love it when she uses words like "actually" and "otherwise" correctly. So cute.

Riley has become quite fascinated with the process of teeth falling out. She keeps telling me that she has a wobbly tooth. Kid, you've got years to wait...

We discovered an interesting game. We found some paintbrushes and I pretend that I'm painting Riley to be a tiger and then say that an animal is taking a piggy-back ride on her and I paint an animal on her back (like a snake) and she guesses what it is. Nice quiet sensory exercise.

Aha, I finally finished Riley's Waldorf doll. I shouldn't say "finally" since it really didn't take that long. If I had been really serious about getting it done, I could have done it in three days. But it did take me about a week. Now just to make some clothes, which shouldn't be too hard now that I've looked at the instructions. Riley already adores the doll. She wanted to take it to school this morning, nursed it and cuddled it. Very adorable. This was before it had hair. A bald naked dolly. I definitely had enough mohair yarn for the hair. I could have made longer hair. I actually may have put too much hair on. It's tied prettily back with a ribbon. I'll have to take pictures. The hair is redder than I thought it would be, but no worries. I'm thinking of making a smaller one for Avery.

Riley has been so well behaved for the last couple of days. I have to say that it corresponds to Rudi's increased involvement with the girls. Before it all was a vicious cycle. Riley would misbehave when Rudi got home because it was the only way for her to get his attention, then I would start to dread him coming home, and he would be mad at me for being cold and at Riley for acting out. No one would be happy. I hope the present situation lasts forever.

Riley discovered two of the stocking suffers that I thought I had sufficiently hidden. Two stuffed animals, one for each of the girls. So now they have them early. What stocking is complete without a stuffed animal? Ho hum. And these were cute little animals from the Whole Foods Market.

Now I have to get busy assembling the kitchen so it'll be ready for Christmas. I really don't want the girls to open it when it's still in the box and then endure Riley's "help" while I put the thing together. Luckily I'm one of the really weired people who likes to assemble things. "Assembly required"=happy Amy.

Ah, I forgot to post the Santa pictures!

Wahoo, I finally have pictures! Now just to wait for them to download.

Today was pretty boring, and I should have made phone calls, but didn't. Last night, as I was on my way to a little toy shop downtown for stocking stuffers, my car starts acting up. Just what we need. Cars always run really well when you have extra money lying around. It idles really low, and stalls unless I give it gas. And when I'm driving the RPMs take a dip, making the car jerk. But no corresponding noise from the engine, and no "check engine" light.

Riley cried for Jay again today. She wants him to come to her Christmas and her birthday. She also has been asking if Abby will come to her birthday, although she has made it abundantly clear what she intends to share with Abby, and what she will not. I've got news for you, kid...Hopefully the birthday ceremony at school will help feed her desire for birthday attendees.

Getting Riley to sleep lately has been really frustrating. She knows all the words to the stories that I tell. Some are short stories, like "Little Red Riding Hood" or "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." But some are long, like "Rumpelstiltskin" and she still knows them and wants to interject or tell them herself from beginning to end. She knows all the songs, including "Baby Mine" from Dumbo, which she likes to sing with me. All these activities defeat the purpose of the ritual: to get her to sleep. So I am constantly having to think up other stories that she doesn't know just to get her to sleep. I'm running out of ideas. Plus her naps have been all out of whack. Yesterday she napped from 3:30 to 5:30 and didn't go to bed until 1am, but got up at 7:00. She was understandably tired, so she napped this morning at 11:30. She went to bed tonight at 9:30-ish, so tomorrow better be a more normal day.

Avery is developing quite the dramatic personality. I call her "La Divina." Today I was trying to finish my dinner and Avery was standing at my feet looking up at me fussing for me to pick her up, and whenever I looked at her she would crumble herself to the floor, only to stand up and do it again. And then she went over to Rudi to perform the same tragic play.

Speaking of Rudi, he's been like Wonder Dad for the past two days. He's been getting on the floor and playing with the girls (doesn't seem like much to anyone else, but he NEVER does this). He's been incredibly patient with Riley. Just a little undivided attention really goes a long way with a child. Riley is responding a lot better to him and not being so aggressive towards Avery.

So I'm finally making progress on Riley's doll. This is what it looks like so far. After making the head, the body comes really easily. When the kit came in the mail, I looked at the huge bag of wool stuffing and thought there's no way that'll all fit in one doll, but it sure does. A whole lot of stuffing is involved to get the head as rock-hard as possible. I don't look forward to doing the hair, but in a weird way I kind of do. I guess I'm a sucker for punishment.

So when Rudi brought the Christmas tree in, he leaned it up on the corner of the dining room, and when Riley woke up on Wednesday morning she wanted to get started decorating the tree right away. I tell her that we need to wait for Daddy to get home so that he can put the tree in the stand and move the loveseat for us. That didn't last long. I'm looking at the clock: 8:30am-still eight hours till Rudi comes home. Stall longer. 9:30--seven hours until Rudi gets home. So I determine that I am going to have to put the tree up by myself. First, I move the loveseat out of the way. Not into the garage, I'm not Superwoman. Then I realize that the tree stand is in the closet that the tree is leaning on. So I move the six-foot tree out of the way and get the stand. Of course, Riley has already put about a dozen glass bulbs on the bottom of the tree. So then I get the saw and work for a really long time at getting an inch or two off the bottom of the tree. And into the stand it goes. And them I have to carry it across the townhouse. Then I realize that there is no way that we have enough lights since we've never had a tree this big before. So off to Walmart to visit Rudi for lunch and buy lights.

Then we start decorating the tree just a little. The major decorating occurs after Avery has gone to sleep for the night. Riley and I decorate the tree while Rudi sleeps in the chair. So much for spending time together and making family memories. Rudi said that he had been experiencing vertigo like when he had cysts in his sinuses which were surgically removed. Now that he is fairly certain that he doesn't have stomach cancer, he thinks that he has cysts. Sometimes I wonder if he would be happier if he did have a terminal illness. Not happy unless something is wrong.

Rudi has a doctor's appointment last week and he got a lecture from his doctor. His A1C was 9.2, when it should be between 4 and 6. So his doc told him to come back next month and if his A1C is still high they are going to put him on insulin. So one month to clean up his act. So now he's badgering me about joining the YMCA so that he can excersise, but we never seem to have the money. I know that if he doesn't get to join and ends up going on insulin he's going to blame me for it. Hasn't he ever heard of sidewalks? I hear they're great for walking and jogging on. Not to mention the (women's) weights he bought that are still in the box. I can't win.

We are now on the hunt for stocking stuffers. I have been tempted not to do stokings, but now that we actually have a fireplace, it would be a shame not to have stockings for the girls.

We went to the mall last night because Borders is in the mall here and the mall has a really cool playground in it that Riley and Avery both like. We also tried to eat at the mall. Riley and Rudi had no problems, they're not allergic to anything. I ended up eating california rolls that were about as good as you can expect from a mall. Avery had a bread stick from the pizza place that insisted that there was no parmesan cheese on it. Well, by the time we got to the playground, Avery looked like she had mange. Her whole face was broken out and her eyeball was bright red. Even her scalp was red. Yummy.

Today I took Riley to finally sit on Santa's lap. Riley got shy at the last minute, so we sacrificed Avery to the Santa god and made her go first. Then I got Riley to stand next to Santa and hold Avery's hand. They let us take pictures with my camera (wahoo!). Then we walked away, and Riley got upset because she didn't sit on Santa's lap, so we went back and she sat on his lap. When he asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she said "I want Christmas presents."

Then when Rudi got home we went out for a Christmas tree. Things were looking kind of bleak as everywhere we went was so outrageously priced. We were starting to think that we weren't going to be able to get a tree. We're talking $80+ and that's too much for us. Then we finally were on our way home and we saw a tree lot 1/2 mile from our house and we go there and find a great Douglas Fir for $46. Definitely the best tree we've ever gotten. Plus they had a dog and Avery really got a kick out of that. I can see Rudi and Avery coming home with a dog some day down the road (far down the road, I hope). For some reason the process of looking for a tree scared Riley. Maybe if we had gone in the daylight. Now she is harassing us about decorating the tree. We figured that we'll move the loveseat into the garage and put the tree there next to the fireplace. How nice and cozy. Hopefully Avery is too dainty to touch the prickly tree. That's probably wishful thinking. Although Riley has informed us that she intends to climb the tree to put the star on top, so maybe we're worrying about the wrong child.

Riley has also become fascinated with the skeletal system. She's always asking if she has a skeleton inside her, if Avery does, etc. Or why she has a skeleton in her head and fingers, but not her hair or eyeballs. Or if Avery can have a skeleton inside her, why not a cow inside too?

Riley has developed a really annoying habit of putting her hands up my shirt. I really don't mind so much if we're napping or nursing at home, but in public it's really really annoying, and inappropriate. I really don't like getting a purple nurple while standing in line at Starbucks. At nearly three, should I teach her about personal boundaries? I don't want her to think that she can't touch me, but I don't want her to think that other people can touch her like that either. Maybe I'm worrying too early. Argh, having daughters!

Avery has discovered the hippo walker that Mina, Brendan, and James got Riley for her first birthday. It's so funny to see her walking across the apartment, given that she's so tiny. She can't stear it, though, so she inevitably runs into something that has the audacity to be in her way (like a wall) and get frustrated. She absolutely adores talking on the phone. Rudi was on cloud nine all day today because last night Riley stayed up until 12:45 while Rudi and Avery slept in the bed and apparently Avery crawled over to him and snuggled with him and fell back asleep. And then Avery was napping when Rudi came home, so he thought he would go up and lay down while I make dinner, but found that Avery was awake and playing in bed (she's sneeky like that) so we all went up. I took Avery back down and asked Riley if she wanted to come with Mommy or stay with Daddy, and she *gasp* decided to stay with Daddy. I could hear them wrestling and tickling and laughing over the baby monitor. It was quite cute.

Ah, such a long post and no pictures. I feel like I'm cheating everyone...

Hah, I found a picture of Avery from when we were in Maryland. Yay! But I think it's out of focus. Oh well.

Riley missed school today, and for the dumbest reason. Rudi forgot to take the car seat base out of his car this morning. Even if he had, he hasn't taken the huge toy kitchen out of my car (more than three weeks of asking him to hasn't produced results) and it's far too heavy for me to move. The only way I got it into my car in the first place is by pushing the shopping cart up to the door of my car and shoving it in.

So I'm trying to do laundry for the first time since I came home and I assumed that the washer and dryer were empty, but find that there are really stinky old clothes in the washer that never got put in the dryer. Including Avery's wool soakers. Washed in warm water. Yay. That's why Rudi is not allowed to do laundry.

Riley has been extremely interested in Christmas lately. Tonight, in a failed attempt at bedtime, she asked if everyone was coming to her Christmas. She named a laundry list of everyone she knew. I said that it would be Mommy, Daddy, Riley and Avery. She was particularly concerned whether Jay and Abby would be there. When I told her no, she started to weep. It was pretty sad. She said that she wanted to go to Jay's house right now, and I told her that Jay's house is far away and we have to get on an airplane to get there. Riley really wants to see Santa, and I'm all for it but I don't really want her to learn the "getting" part of Christmas just yet (I know she eventually will) which is why I've avoided the topic of Santa. Rudi asked her if she was going to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas (insert Riley's patented "you're retarded" look) and she said "No, I'm going to give him flowers." I thought that was cute.

Today I talked with Heather, our friend from Missoula. We talked for about and hour and a half (until my phone ran out of batteries) and it was really great to talk to a familiar person with whom I share the same views on parenting and politics and everything. Ah, adult conversations! It's funny how Montana feels like a whole different lifetime ago. I guess when I'm involved with the daily tasks of raising my children, concentrating on parenting, the outside world is irrelevant. Like I could step outside and be in Tokyo, and be like "Eh...whatever." It's nice when you meet other parents and you know right away that your views match and that there'll be no surprise oddities to discover. You have to be carefull in this town. They may be religious zealots or gung-ho military people who collect guns and you don't find out until it's too late to diplomatically cut relations. Heather emailed me pictures of Mazey (I finally know how to spell it) and she is absolutely adorable, which isn't news in itself because she's always been adorable, but now in a girlish way rather than a baby way. Like in the six months since we've moved she's gone from cute to beautiful. I'm not sure that I'm explaining myself well, but I think other parents of daughters will get what I'm trying to say. I wonder if Riley looks that way to others. I see her every day, so I don't notice these things as easily.

Riley has also changed her pronunciation of her name. First it was "Ridey" then "Riwey" and now she's pronouncing it with a really laborious "L" that only just misses. She tries so hard.

Man, I took a shower today and then immediately drew a bath and got in with both Riley and Avery (I can't take a bath without showering first. Otherwise, it's just nasty). Giving two toddlers a bath at the same time is no small feat. Everything was going well until Avery decided to start really splashing. Riley then evicted her, and I was happy to oblige.

Avery has a mystery rash. She even has it on her legs, which she usually doesn't get. It almost seems like something got on her skin, rather than something she or I ate. Riley has a new interest in making her own PB&J, and I'm wondering if I had peanut butter on my hands after cleaning up after her. Or if Riley had it on her. Or if a smear of it got on the floor and I didn't catch it. Her rash is really well-defined, not blotchy. In some places the rash looks like fingerprint shapes. Another day, another rash. We can't win them all.

Woah, I've written way too much and it's time for me to get serious about laundry...

So no picures until I manage to hook up the digital camera to the computer. I'm such an idiot to have lost the password to the computer. Of course no one that knows me would be surprised...

We had two breakthroughs in the world of breastfeeding yesterday. First, I was putting Avery down for a nap, during which Riley usually cuddles with me too. She said, "I want nai-nais" so I said "Okay." Then Riley said, "No, I don't need nai-nais. I'm a big girl, you know." And she didn't nurse for like a whole half-hour. Then that night we went to Barnes and Noble and five times Avery crawled into my lap and lifted up my shirt. Aah, the first blatant violation of my personal boundaries. How sweet.

So, I've been waiting for the network news media to say something about the Kim family ordeal, but no one will, so I'll do it. Those children would have been seriously ill or probably dead if the mother had not chosen to breastfeed. It's like people are so uncomfortable with the topic of breastfeeding that all it gets is a fleeting mention in a five-word sentence. Breastfeeding saved those children's lives.

Aargh, I need to all Avery's doctor for a 12-month check up and her allergist for her three month follow-up. Blah.

I'm not even trying to conceal the fact that I'm making a doll for Riley for Christmas. She's really interested in the whole process, and seeing it may make the doll more special for her. Rudi bought Avery two toys today for Christmas, which is good because as I was wrapping presents, I realized that we really don't have much for Avery yet.

We went to the mall today and got the girls winter hats and Riley some mittens. I don't like feeling like the incompetent mother at preschool where my child is the only one there without a hat or mittens. We got Avery a pink and green fleece hat from the Children's Place, and tried various sizes and styles for Riley before finding one that fit and had mittens in the right size to match. We settled on the same hat that Avery got, and when Avery saw Riley wearing the hat, she gave her the biggest stink-eye I've ever seen. Rudi says "Does she know that Riley got the same hat?" Who knows. They also got the same Christmas pajamas from Old Navy. We'll see if Avery noties. Their selection of suitable Christmas morning pajamas was pretty slim, so we had to get two of the same.

Well, I'm fading away. Time for bed...I'm such a loser.

Oops, once again I saved a post as a draft and forgot to go back and publish it. Oh well, I'm just going to post it and do a new one too...

So Avery turned one yesterday. She also managed to grace us with two more steps, but wouldn't repeat it. We went to Toys R Us and bought her some birthday gifts with the store credit that we had from returning the "wooden" building set that I had originally bought her. We got her a shape sorter and a stacking train. She really likes them, and unfortunately Riley really likes them too. Of course Riley had to get another Littlest Pet Shop pet. She loves those darn things. We couldn't realistically take Riley to the toy store and not buy her a little toy. That would be cruel. We also got the Hi-Ho Cherry-O boeard game for Riley and we've played it already. Riley won twice. She really enjoys the game. This whole buying toys for Christmas versus birthday thing is really hard to figure out. Why did we have two children both so close to Christmas? Alas...

And I totally forgot about the Waldorf doll kit that I started to make for a Christmas gift for Riley. Doh. Hopefully I can still get it done. It's not really the doll that I'm worried about, it's making the clothes to go with it. I have tons of leftover fabric from quilting, but I don't look forward to working in such small scale. Ugh. And they probably want me to use elastic or something else devilish, or maybe buttonholes. Argh.

Avery's birthday party was a lot of fun, and a lot of work, mostly for my Mom. I did make the cupcakes, which I think turned out pretty good. The icing was not thick enough, and I don't know what to do about that, so maybe I'll try a different icing recipe next time. Avery really really wanted the chocolate cake, which was really sad. We had a lot of people here, which was nice because I don't see my extended family nearly enough. Avery got a lot of nice presents, except for the ones that I got her. They stunk. "Wood Creations" should mean wood, not plastic. I am not morally opposed to quality plastic toys by any means, but if I buy wood, I want wood. Those are going back to the store today. Avery and Riley both particularly like the piggy bank that Uncle Button, Auntie Mina, and Jamesy got Avery. Avery is pretty good at putting the coins in. Abby was a big hit at the party, with her groovin' dance moves and adorable little pigtails. James and Abby hit it off and Abby was calling him her boyfriend. Jay's Grandma Pooran told her not to trust Jay because he has a lot of girlfriends.

Today is our last day here in Maryland. We're off to Colorado early in the morning tomorrow. That means that I have a lot of laundry to do, namely diapers. Avery will be in disposables tonight and tomorrow, so all her diapers will be clean to pack and I won't have to worry about cloth on the plane. Rudi says that they are supposed to get a blizzard today and tomorrow, so hopefully the trip won't be too painful. I wonder what the weather is supposed to be in Minneapolis. Well, I just looked on the Weather Channel and they say nothing about a blizzard in the Springs, but flurries in Minneapolis. Although I've never known the Weather Channel to be right on a single darn thing, hopefully they're right on this one. I think Riley is going to be very upset when we leave tomorrow. But she'll be happy to see her father, and he'll be happy to see us, at least until we get on his nerves, which should be only a few minutes.

I bought Avery a small set of Playmobil 1.2.3. toys. Let's just say that she really really likes them. She was dripping pools of drool everywhere.

Brendan, Mina, and James came over tonight so that we could see them before we leave tomorrow. Riley totally attacked Jay with hugs and kisses when they left. I think he was a little embarassed. Then he wouldn't get close enough for her to kiss him on the cheek, so she kissed her hand and patted him on the face. It was quite adorable. Riley has already cried today, telling Grandma that she will miss her tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be too bad. I think we'll be making a lot of phone calls over the next couple of days.