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March 28, 2003
Friday, March 28, 2003
Hana – 10 months + 1 day
We had some friend’s over for dinner last night and I had one (or two or three?) too many glasses of wine, so I apologize in advance for this entry, which is likely to be incoherent and scattered. My brain is working very, very slowly.
I, by the way, tried out new a recipe for sausage jambalaya on our dinner guests, and it turned out fabulously (and quite easy to prepare—a big bonus for me). If anyone would like me to email it, post to me and let me know (Allisun, I’m assuming I’ll hear from you). Artichokes were on sale for $0.99 each so I bought two, but Mike and our guests looked at me like I was serving eyeballs. Does anyone else out there like artichoke (and I don’t mean artichoke dip) or am I really crazy? I LOVE them. Have a great dip too (dip for the leaves, I mean--simple, high calorie, bad for you…but very good), if anyone is interested in that
In the last week, my life has, for the most part, been reduced to two tasks: going to work and chasing Hana. One day last week, Hana decided that she would crawl. Really, that was it. In the morning I left a baby who refused to be on her stomach let alone crawl, and I came home (from work) to a different baby who was crawling everywhere. If you recall, Hana was already walking at this point (but they were very slow & methodical steps that usually required prompting) so she was easily getting around…but all the same, this advent of The Crawl was a big event. That very same day her walking skills really took off, and a few days later she learned the art of The Pivot. What a funny thing that is to see. She’ll stand in the middle of the room and just pivot-pivot-pivot in a circle, over & over again. Reminds me of some basketball drills we did as kids, and it is just hilarious to watch her pivoting with great concentration.
As of today, Hana can walk, pivot (this girl can turn on a dime!), crawl and GET INTO ANYTHING & EVERYTHING. Our house is now almost entirely baby-proof. Except the damn cat food. What do I do with the cat food? Hana spends most of her energy trying to get to the cat food. She’s sampled those little morsels many times and apparently approves, because it has become the center of her universe. I’ve got the finger-hook down pat, as I am so often fishing orange tidbits out of her mouth. I refuse to put the cat’s bowl on the kitchen counter, and I swear that if I move it to the basement I will honestly forget to feed her (out of sight out of mind). As goofy as it seems, I’m considering a baby gate around the cat food bowl…Any ideas? I’m working on my discipline skills, BUT since we’ve spent so much time laughing at Hana’s adorable habit of shaking her head “no,” I’m afraid I’ve spoiled its true purpose. When I say NO in my firm, mean mom-voice (as she careens toward the cat food bowl), she just looks up at me, smiles with eyes twinkling, and shakes that little blonde head back & forth wildly. Hmmph.
In a similar vein, I have a funny little anecdote to share. Perhaps no one will find it quite as amusing as I, but I’ll write it here for safe-keeping. The other day my mother-in-law & I were chatting in the living room as Hana toddled around the room, playing with her toys and pushing this-and-that around the room. We watched as she made her way to the stairs, reached waaay up to the third stair, and managed to grab the Motrin bottle sitting there (where I assumed it was out of reach). I stood up from the couch (using my very ineffective “No!”) and made my way over to her. She saw me coming, and I kid you not, this little rascal SPUN AROUND and honest-to-god tried to RUN AWAY from me! I could not believe it. My MIL and I both witnessed it and sat there in awe for a few seconds, before we burst out laughing. I suppose it was not as groundbreaking as it seemed to us, but my goodness! Suddenly my sweet little girl reminds me more of a toddler than a baby. It seems like there was a sudden shift over the last week. She’s more toddler than baby. Holy smokes. That is quite a realization for this mama to swallow.
Julia’s (BabiesToday) most recent entry touched on baby food, and reminded me that I want to post some of Hana’s current favorites. Given that I have been horrible about keeping up her baby book (ok, so I don’t even have an actual baby book…I have a calendar. Some mom I am.), I’m using this diary to document some of the little details. Hana loves soup = chicken noodle, chicken & rice, beef with barley, black bean, potato, lentil, tortilla. She hasn’t met a soup she didn’t like. She likes salsa (REALLY wants a tortilla chip or two, and isn’t convinced that she’ll choke like everyone keeps telling her). She loves jelly sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches. Baked potatoes & garlic mashed potatoes. Thai noodles. Pasta with spicy red pepper sauce. Spanish rice. Sweet potato, summer squash, asparagus, peas. Bananas, pears, apple slices & applesauce (she hates peaches, strangely enough). But most of all she loves ice cream. This child has a sweet tooth; there is no doubt.
Our house has also become a constant dance party. OK, not really. For the most part, Hana is the only one dancing. When she’s not going for the cat food, she’s usually dancing. Her moves generally follow this pattern: bounce up & down rhythmically, bop head up and down, clap hands. Sometimes, if the mood strikes her, she adds in her real fancy move—she extends her arms, faces her palms upward, and “raises the roof.” I believe that Mike taught her this one. She has definite musical preferences, and I do mean that. We’ve done case studies. There is no doubt that Hana prefers, over all else, 1) Dean Martin (don’t ask), 2) The Beatles 3) Stevie Wonder, 4) the song “If I Had A Million Dollars”, and 4) the theme song to the “Dragon Tails” cartoon on PBS. Oh, and the phone. Hana likes to play with the cordless phone, and often inadvertently turns it on. When the annoying “I’m off the hook” signal sounds, what does Hana do? She DANCES. I personally don’t hear the melody, but something catches her fancy.
While I’m convinced of her physical prowess, Hana’s vocabulary is dubious. She can say/has said (in varying combination) the following: ba, buh, ma, muh, da, duh, tuh (only once, but I swear I heard it)….and a strange lip smacking that, if really stretched, could be considered some form of “puh.” I guess this is all very normal for her age, but you must realize she is being compared to my friend’s daughter who can (at 9.5 months) practically recite the alphabet. I keep waiting for Hana to erupt into a chorus of k’s, l’s and r’s, but she seems quite content to wander around babbling to herself mostly in vowels, with a few m’s and b’s thrown in for good measure.
Her comprehension, on the other hand, is spectacular (OK, only to me, but I’m writing…). I’m often in awe of what she understands when we talk to her. She knows (and can point to—on her terms) daddy, mama/mommy, kitty, ducky, bath, splash & dance (she splashes and dances on command—on her terms, of course), clock, light, tummy, toes, down and up (in relation to her being picked up or put down). I try desperately for “nose,” but she doesn’t seem to (want to-?) pick up on that one.
So its Friday, it is sunny & warm in Seattle, and I’m fizzy enough from last night to justify lazing around here at work. I’m hoping to get a nice walk in this afternoon after work. Tonight we’re going out for Chinese in celebration of my uncle’s birthday. Afterwards my parents are taking Hana and Mike & I are going to see “Catch Me If You Can” at the local cheap-seats ($2) theater. Saturday morning we’re doing some sort of neighborhood/community clean-up in Ballard (where Mike’s office is) as part of Mike’s new role in the Loyal Heights/Ballard Community Council. Afterwards my mom & I are headed to Stride Rite to buy Hana her first pair of quality shoes. Has anyone noticed that most baby shoes (non Stride-Rite or other quality brands) are heavy lug-soles? Why on earth does a baby need platform-esqe shoes, I wonder?
On Saturday night we’re meeting some friends at Third Place Books (a bookstore/café/community gathering place) for dessert and live music. It is a nice place to go for a relaxing evening away from home because Hana can come, can wander around, and also usually falls asleep in her stroller. And because I can catch up on my magazine reading and peruse the new paperbacks. Bookstores are like a little piece of heaven for me. I’m considering going to IKEA after Mass on Sunday, which is always a mixture of adventure & major hassle. Although part of me dreads the trip and the headache, another part of me just loves wandering through the crazy maze that is IKEA.
We’re very slowly fixing up our basement and turning it into some form of a rec room or family room. A few weeks ago Mike built a daybed under the window, and it’s a wonderfully cozy place to curl up and read a book or watch TV. This week he has been tiling the countertop, and should be finishing that up this weekend. Today he is meeting the electrician to finish installing the lighting, dimmers, etc. up our weekend plans. I’m really looking forward to having this room finished up!
Mike’s next project is, get this, building a chicken coop. And getting chickens, yes. Two, he says. He had chickens growing up (he grew up in Ballard, a neighborhood in the city of Seattle –not a farm or in the country, mind you) and is determined to have them again. He ALSO had a “pet” pigeon named “Pidge” and a “pet” squirrel named “Rocky.” Honest. He had Rocky in high school. His mom still freaks out at the mention of Rocky. Poor woman would come home from work and find her high school son and his football buddies feeding a wild squirrel in her living room!
Anyway, I’ve tried to sway him on the chicken thing, but I’m losing…no, I’ve lost, this battle. I know this man, and I know what is in his head. He has grand visions of his little blonde daughter, selling her fresh eggs on the sidewalk. I’m not joking. This is his little dream world! Perhaps in his mind she also has her table adorned with fresh berries & tomatoes from the garden. He’s just too funny for me to argue with, since I know he has spun this little scene in his head and is determined to make it come true—ha!
I’m computer/techno-challenged, and I’ve just gotten an offer I can’t refuse. A woman I work with has offered to help me figure out the scanner, so I’m off to see if I can scan some pictures of Hana. If she is able to help me scan them in so that they are email-able (last time I tried to do I myself, I almost shut down a few networks, I think…the files were that large). If you would like to see them, let me know and I’d be happy to email them (this is assuming that this works, of course). We’ll get them posted on our website eventually too.
Happy Friday,
Jessica
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