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Bonnie's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 5/19/07 -------------------- 4/18/07 2/27/07 1/18/07 12/21/06 12/2/06 11/11/06 10/13/06 9/24/06 9/14/06 9/4/06 8/23/06 8/17/06 8/3/06 7/28/06 7/24/06 7/21/06 7/11/06 6/29/06 6/26/06 6/25/06 6/24/06 6/21/06 6/15/06 6/13/06 -------------------- Bonnie's Introduction

Overdue update...

February 27, 2007

Gosh, it has taken me so long to get this going. I have started and stopped this entry so many times over the last few weeks.  Why is it so hard for me to post these days?  Oh well...

Okay, so what have we been up to.  Well, first the easy part.  We had Lorelei's six month check up and the doctor declared her to be perfect in every way.  Smart man!  Her weight was 15lbs 13 oz I believe (this was a few weeks ago) which was very close to the 50% .  I can't remember her height but basically she was all around 'average'—in the most wonderful of ways of course! She was a trooper during the shots with a cry of absolute outrage but settling down very quickly.  She even was given a flu shot—a little late in the season but better safe then sorry I guess.  Between my husband's work and the kid's pedi I am the only one in the family who was unable to get a flu shot this year.  That's right, me, the nurse.  Quality place I work for, huh?  Anyway...

Probably my most exciting news of late was a five day girls (grown up girls, mind you) getaway to Puerto Rico.  This was a direct result of Jamie's insisting I "do something for myself" after his own guys trip to Europe in November.  I know that a lot of women would be unwilling (and/or unable) to leave their children with their husband for such a period of time but I was determined not to put myself last in this equation and so decided this trip away would be just perfect. 

And perfect it was, I must say.  I went with two friends from high school and we had a blast.  I have been to Puerto Rico for short periods of time before but had never really been able to appreciate what a magnificent beautiful island it was.  Everywhere we went everyone was very very friendly and it has a great combination of beautiful beaches, lush rainforests, as well as a smoking nightlife and great shopping.  What fun!  By the time we were leaving my friend and I were already plotting on how we could retire there....

I returned home to find the girls still alive and the house still standing, which was a relief, sort of.  Well, of course I knew they would be okay but a part of me wanted them to have really struggled to maintain any sort of semblance of a routine, let alone regular meals, baths, activities, clean diapers, etc.  Well, I must give Jamie (and my girls) props in that they managed quite nicely.  There was lots of hugs and generalized happiness to have mommy home but I think everyone was also both relieved and proud of themselves for their behavior while I was away.  Jamie often calls me 'the glue' that holds our family together and, truth be told, I kind of think of myself in that role in that I organize the basics for everyone on a day to day basis.  So it was a stretch for all of us to upend things this way. Looking back, however, I think the experience was excellent for everyone in terms of stretching our comfort zone and learning about ourselves. 

Lorelei is blossoming into the most fun little baby. Coming up on seven months now, she has fully mastered sitting up and this opens up the world to her considerably, in terms of being able to see further around herself and use her hands for all forms of grabbing, manipulating and of course the all important mouthing.  Now more then ever what she sees, she wants and alas, she has no idea that she is still pretty limited in her ability to get around.  Actually, to be fair, between squirming, lunging and rolling she often is able to make up a lot of ground but I think we are a good month or so away from when she would be able to haul her big old torso up and around.  I look forward to that day with anticipation and trepidation.

The relationship between Ella and Lorelei is just great.  Ella continues to be the absolute apple of Lore's eye and really seems to be incapable of doing any wrong, unless it's the sin of leaving the room.  Lorelei will spend long stretches of time doing nothing more then watching her sister as she moves about her daily meanderings.  If I put Lorelei in the car the first thing she does is whip her little head around to see if her sister is beside her.  When she is not—as when we have just dropped her off at school—she will often burst into tears of absolute betrayal.  The poor thing.

I know I have mentioned in the past the amazing imagination that Ella has but it is such a constant in her life that I feel I must bring it up again.  Nary a day goes by that she doesn't spend an hour or more all by herself (or with her sister watching, if I plunk Lore nearby so I can get something done) jabbering away while she plays with her army of Barbies, fairies, and the such.  Lately her most remarkable development is when she is off to the bathroom and knows it will be a while (IF you know what I mean) she will actually drag her full toy box of toys in with her so she has something to entertain herself.  Like daddy with his sports page, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess.

I don't know if it is related to her imagination and inclination to turn inward, but Ella also seems to be continuing her trend of turning more cautious and fearful of the world.  I find myself constantly second guessing myself as I walk a fine line between not pushing her but also trying not to let her world grow too small as it is crowded by fears of large crowds, strangers, and extreme paranoia regarding being separated from me.  My biggest solace for my worries is the fact that she does so well going off to school each day and seems to have lots of friends.  However, we had our annual parent teacher meeting at school and, while Ella received glowing reviews on all areas, her teachers did mention her shyness and that this can hurt her problem solving skills.  So this is something I will watch, and hopefully will pass or fade in time.  I will say that I think Lorelei has helped her.  Often when we are out she is seems to be more brave and confident when I ask her to "stay with the baby" or the such (mind you, I am not leaving a five year old alone with an infant in public areas.  I am talking about times when, for instance, I need to walk across a fast food restaurant to get some napkins or the such. Please don't call social services on me quite yet...)

Okay, lets wrap this up and post it.  Hope all is well with you and yours!!

Thanks for reading!

Bonnie