April 2008 Archives

Our baby turned two today.  She is such a wonderful little person and we're happy she allows us to be her parents (trust me, that's how it plays out).

This has been a big year for The Juice.  She's figured out walking, mastered falling and her verbal skills are uncanny.  Why just last night while I was making dinner she was playing with some Playdoh and I turned around just in time to see her polish off a small marble sized piece.  I took the rest of the Playdoh away and told her no more.  She looked at me and commanded "Momma give it me the Playdoh, NOW!".  I just looked at her and marveled at what a great talker she is.  ;)  Thankfully this didn't turn into a shouting match as my look of disapproval was enough to make her back down (a rare occasion indeed!).

Honestly, she is so fiercely independent that it makes me proud and scared at the same time.  Right now she wants to do everything "Do it mine self" but has absolutely no sense of self preservation.  Every day is an adventure.

We love you Josephine, you keep us sharp!

Josie's language skills have really exploded in the past few weeks, to where she can get through her ABCs and the better part of Ariel's Song ("Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid) on her own (even while sleeping!)

Combine this with her irrepressibly boisterous nature and the result is our almost-two-year-old belting out her ABCs at the top of her lungs as we roam the streets of Wellington, either from her stroller or our shoulders. It's a new take on an old favorite too, because the last line ("Now I know my ABCs,") becomes the start of a new round ("Now I know my A-B-C-D-E-F-G").

We also have our relocation coordinator to thank for our new favorite thing: The Fluffy. It's apparently a cafe standard for the under-5 set here: warm milk topped with foam and cocoa powder in an espresso cup, usually accompanied by a few fancy marshmallows or chocolates. Starbucks I'm sure would take advantage to price this treat around US$5, but here they're usually NZ$0.50 so other than the sugar-guilt you don't have to feel bad. Most of the cafes here have boxes of toys for kids to play with too, so going for fluffies is their new favorite thing.

In our current two-bedroom accommodations the girls have also discovered the joys of falling asleep at the same time in the same room. They're having so much fun at bedtime I'm not sure we'll want to separate them again when we occupy our permanent residence here. We've been lenient so far and haven't had to resort to Uncle John's patented Sugar Bowl TechniqueTM, but I foresee that in our near future (probably when Uncle John comes to visit.)

Since being here, I have noticed that anytime I am in public, I feel like I am smothering my children.  We went to Te Papa, the national museum and I had the girls in the stroller.  As soon as we walked in I noticed that almost none of the kids who were there (many of them younger than Josie) were holding anyone's hand.  They roamed around and stayed near by their caregivers. 

I took the girls up to the Discovery Center area for kids and let them run loose.  My confidence started building slowly as I watched them politely interact with others and not bolt for the nearest exit.  So I decided to let them walk as we found another Discovery Center on the same floor.  Of course they ran off like wild children and I ended up scolding them out of fear.  I felt like anyone within ear shot was looking at me like I was a monster.  One passerby actually mocked me as I was telling Sophie "I don't want to lose you" they said "I don't want to lose you either".  I was furious! 

We had a similar experience at the playground (see the picture of the "Slide of Death").  Sophie wanted to climb up two stories to go down this slide and I said no.  But as I looked around, kids Josie's age were climbing up unassisted to go down this slide.  It freaks me out and makes me question my parenting at the same time.  Am I overprotective?  Should I let them try these things and get hurt? 

Sophie has picked this opportune time to give up her naps.  We've still been putting her in bed and having her stay in her room for "quiet time" but it turns into singing, opening and closing the door, multiple visits to the bathroom.  Really just a lot of delaying.  Jake and I are resisting as much as possible but today I finally realized that it isn't just a phase.

So, goodbye naps.  We'll miss you!