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October 25, 2004
What! Mama with a camera Again!
This past Sabbath was a gorgeous day in Lincoln. So I went for a walk with Karis up to Union College campus. I snapped pictures of her while she crawled and scooted around on the grass. She was finally able to sit in the grass for more than 6 seconds without picking some and trying to eat it!
Some of you know that we decided to teach Karis some sign language. They say that it helps eliminate some of the frustrations a toddler has in trying to communicate their needs before they are verbally proficient. We have been teaching her signs with the help of some DVDs Signing Time. They have 3 DVDs and I have heard they are working on more. I have tried to play the 1st DVD for Karis several times a week since she was 6 months old or so. Unfortunately with the packing and moving, she has been watching it more than I'd like or care to admit. It's about a 20 minute video. These days it's more like everyday and II try to make sure it doesn't cycle through more than 2 times!
And we have been using the sign for water, eat and more at meal times. The first time I knew she recognized the sign for water was so exciting. I signed water and she turned and looked at her sippy cup over on the counter. It was like, "ok, you are thinking and processing in there..."!
The last week and a half she has really began signing back. First it was More, about 5 weeks or so ago. She did it about 5 times, we tried to videotape it and she stopped. Didn't do it again for about 2 weeks. Then while we were in KY she started to sign baby out of the blue, looking at a photo of a baby on a restaurant wall. She now signs More, Baby, Sleep, Milk, Eat/Food, has tried Water and Shoes. I'm not sure that she has connected to the meaning of the words yet, though she knows what words and signs go together.
So exciting! She will soon be able to ask for things. It is so much fun...
Click on the link below to go to our website and see a 15 second quicktime movie of Karis signing...
Posted by mclianne at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
October 14, 2004
"Surprise, surprise, surprise..." (said with Gomer Pyle accent)
Well, Well... Where to start... We are not moving to California after all. We are moving to Louisville, Kentucky. As we started packing the moving truck a week or so ago, things just weren't falling into place for the move to California. The plan to buy a building hadn't worked out, Andy wasn't going to be doing quite all that we had wanted jobwise, we were having difficulty finding a suitable place to live, and the insane real estate prices finally got to us.
We talked to Andy's dad on the phone and he re-extended an offer his parents had made about 2 years ago, for Andy to come and work with them in KY. They are in the real estate rental business, are very busy and need someone to come help them out. After deliberating, we accepted their offer. This way Andy will get some experience in both maintainance and management rather than just maintainance as he would have in CA. And the property here in Louisville is much more reasonably priced, so we get a 4-Plex for what a single unit goes for in CA. We can also get a 4-5 bedroom house with an acre or more of land for the same amount as a 2 bedroom bungalo in CA.
Now you may have noticed I said "property here in Louisville"... We are currently in Louisville house hunting. (The pic was taken in Andy's parent's front yard this am) We packed up a truck and brought a load down and put it into storage. When we find something we will go back to Lincoln to paint the house, tie up loose ends, and then come back to Louisville. At which time I will be going back to work 3/4 if not full time. It's amazing how doors close and others open...
Posted by mclianne at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
October 10, 2004
The Mandarin Candidate
This last week we gave Karis her first taste of mandarin oranges. She loves them. She snarfs them down at first, but as she gets full, she begins to play. She loves being able to feed herself. But she loves squishing her food between her fingers even more. I know that is how she is learning about her world. But it can get a little messy at times and I havenʼt quite been able to just let go and let her get “as messy as she wants to be”!
She fed herself piece after piece, then slowly began to push the pieces around her plate. Next came the banging her hands on the plate. It made a satisfying rattle and she was quite pleased with herself. After a while the banging wasnʼt enough and she graduated to picking up the plate and watching the orange sections fall where they may. Again, very pleased with herself, she began squealing with glee.
When she is school age and comes to me stating “Mommy, Iʼm booored!”. I need to remind her of her utter fascination with foods when she was a baby and hand her a plate of mandarin oranges...
Posted by mclianne at 07:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
October 09, 2004
Every girl needs a little black dress...
You gotta love consignment shops! Kids grow so fast and when they are little like this, don't really mess their clothes up to much. It only makes sense to get gently used clthes.
Sometimes I like to dress Karis in things other than OshKosh, Carters, and assorted Target and Walmart clothes. Not that there is anything wrong with the previous mentioned clothing. I just like some of the mid-end to higher end clothing once in a while. Gymboree is a store that has some really cute clothes for little girls. I'd say that it is in the upper-mid range when it comes to prices. I usually don't get anything there unless it's a gift for someone else or it's a really good sale. Some of the other nice clothing lines are Baby Lulu, Catamini, Babymini, Oinkbaby, Absorba, Jacadi, Oilily, Clayeux, Hanna Andersson, and Le Top just to name a few. That's where the consignment stores come into play.
The two I have found that I really like are Once Upon a Child and Children's Orchard. You can get some of the high end clothes in good used condition at drastically reduced prices and there is usually quite a bit of Gymboree to be had. I can handle paying $10 or less for something that was originally probably around $50.
Of course this little outfit cost me a total of $5.50! The Gymboree dress and the shoes I got free at a large consignment sale in Lincoln. I had won a trivia question on the radio and the prize was a Godfather's Pizza and $20 gift certificate to the consignment sale. The shirt, which matches perfectly, was $5.50 at Once upon a Child. Score!
Posted by mclianne at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
October 05, 2004
Sleeping Beauty
With packing for the upcoming move, Karis has been in confined spaces more than I care to admit. The house is hardly baby proofed with all the packing boxes everywhere. Sometimes we block off the hallway and give her free reign to go up and down the hallway and pull tupperware out of a plastic bin. But Karis has been spending more time in the baby enclosure, pack-n-play, and in her highchair than I ever thought she would.
One afternoon I was cleaning the kitchen after I fed her some lunch. I turned around after starting the dish-washer to find Karis fast asleep in her chair. She was adorable, but so tired since she had refused to take a morning nap. (when I put her down, she sat and played in her crib for an hour) Andy came in and we tipped her back so her head was leaning back against the headrest. I covered her with a blanket and she slept in the high-chair for an hour!
I can't wait until we move and have a room baby proofed. Where she can just roam at will and pull things off shelves like she loves to do...
Posted by mclianne at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
October 01, 2004
"Splish splash I was taking a b@th"
In all of the baby books and articles I have read on babies and sleep, it talks about the need for a bedtime routine. Babies do much better with some sort of routine they said. I am so NOT a routine sort of person. But I started one for Karisʼs sake. So every night she has supper, has a b@th, sometimes a little lotion, dresses in her PJʼs while listening to a soothing CD, says goodnight to daddy, and then I put her to bed.
I must say that she absolutely LOVES the b@th. She splashes around, sings, tries to stand up in the b@th and grab at everything in sight. She plays with her links, has a waterproof book to read (or rather chew), and two rubber duckies she also likes to chew. Mainly though she likes to splash.
Do you remember the last time you had this much fun in the tub?
Posted by mclianne at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)