My Name Is Now Mom

Birthday Blocks! TerraDactyl got some wood blocks for her birthday.  So far, she's been pretty interested in them.  She's not good at stacking them, but she seems to enjoy knocking down my stacks.  She also sorts them by some quality - I'm not sure what it is.  We also spent quite a bit of time where she would hand me blocks and take away blocks from me.  I was using the time to talk about colors and counting, but I'm not sure if that's what was holding her interest or not.  Sometimes I think she just likes telling me what to do.  She handed me the headband.  So that means she wanted to wear it, right? There are still 5 eggs in the bird nest inside the stroller.  The mama bird seems to be incubating more frequently to me.  I can see her out the kitchen window even during the day now.  Unfortunately, I can't get a picture of her - she keeps flying away whenever I get a camera into place.  So I've given up....

Sorting Laundry (and adding some dirty clothes to the "Give Away" box) TerraDactyl enjoys spending time each day sorting her dirty laundry.  Sometimes she just pulls it all out onto the floor.  Sometimes she adds shoes or toys to the laundry basket.  (I have to be careful when actually doing the laundry to not wash odd items like that).  Sometimes she likes to mix things up between the laundry basket and the "give away" box - as seen above.  She mixes items both ways (trying to give away dirty clothes, and trying to take back clothes that are too small for her).  I have to periodically check to make sure I've got all the clothes in the right spots. SPOON! TerraDactyl is really into the peanut butter.  I'm thinking she might end up acquiring a new nickname.  Peanut.  Or Goober.  It seems like she might like peanut butter better than black beans even.  The other day she didn't finish her beans.  Instead she insisted o...

Mom!  What's this?!?! TerraDactyl LOVES the outdoors.  Like over the top.  She gets super excited when you walk towards the backdoor.  And (just like Riley) she's figured out that putting on shoes means going outside.  She gets SO excited when DH or I put on flip flops. See the Box Elder?  Just below TerraDactyl's right hand (at the corner of the concrete)? Yesterday TerraDactyl and I spent a long time hanging out and exploring the small concrete pad in our backyard.  She found all the different kinds of tree parts that had fallen on the concrete and tried to eat them all.  We spent a lot of time working on the "No. That's not food" command.  It sort of works. Going in for a closer look at the Box Elder... We also found some bugs!  TerraDactyl really enjoys the Some Bugs  book, and she finally got to inspect a bug in her backyard (the last page of the book)!  She was very interested in it.  She even trie...

Peanut butter is the best! DH started TerraDactyl off with a breakfast of peanut butter on Saturday morning (while I slept in extravagantly late).  TerraDactyl refused to eat anything other than peanut butter.  And she made a huge mess.  She got both her hands, arms, and legs in it.  And of course, her face.  Even after DH spent 10 minutes cleaning TerraDactyl's face, I still found peanut butter on her cheeks when I finally did wake up.  Good thing it was bath day!  And don't women do peanut butter facial masks?  I'm sure the oils are good for her skin. Crushing bottles make a very effective alarm clock We got a bit of yard work done yesterday.  AJ got the yard mowed and did a bit of chain sawing down at the creek.  Cleaning the creek bed is a tough task for one person.  The logs are huge and waterlogged.  And our little chainsaw is battery operated.  DH wants to buy a more robust chainsaw now that we have a sm...

What's that, Mr. Ed? That picture is of TerraDactyl working on her first bite of peanut butter.  I didn't give her very much at all.  She just licked it off my finger.  But it got on her lips and then she spent several minutes trying to lick it off her lips.  Good news:  TerraDactyl did not have  a reaction to the peanut butter.  AND she really liked it.  Like really liked it.  Since it was her first exposure, I didn't want to give her too much, just in case she did react to it.  So after a few licks, I cut her off.  And boy, TerraDactyl did not like that.  She was pretty ticked off when I stopped caving in to her demands for more peanut butter.  Angelina books are so much fun! TerraDactyl has fully recovered from her birthday trauma.  She was totally back to normal that day.  I'm pretty much recovered as well.  I just have my lingering bruises from the fall.  We also made it back to the do...

An egg a day keeps the... babies away? In this time of social distancing, it's important to be respectful and as accommodating as possible to those sharing your space.  Which is why I didn't immediately get rid of the birds nest in our stroller cup holder (well, that and...  birds !).  And then the eggs started coming!  Every day there's a new egg!  I guess the mom only sits on the eggs during the night.  During the daytime, they're totally abandoned.  And now I really  can't get rid of the birds nest.  So, it's going to be a while before we can use the stroller.  Any guesses as to when the birds will abandon their new nest? They finally let me have it! A quick lesson on units:  TerraDactyl is now one asparagus in height.  It's hard to tell by this picture, but they're basically the same length.  TerraDactyl wasn't exactly on board with the whole "stay still during the picture" plan.   With my...

One year old!  It's time to Pary! TerraDactyl had her first birthday yesterday!  She's now one year old!  It's crazy.  In some ways, it feels like time has gone by really fast, but it others, I feel like I've been a mom for forever (and not always in a good way).  ;) Look who got Da Da's toothpaste!! Developments first.  TerraDactyl has discovered that she can reach things that are on the counter/table when she's standing on the ground.  She doesn't blindly reach around up there, but if something is hanging over the edge, she'll grab it and pull it off.  She's now working on pulling it off in such a way that it doesn't hit her in the face as it falls down. What should I do with this thing?? TerraDactyl is a pro at opening the kitchen cabinets.  She can get them all open, but she focuses on the pots and pans (fine) and the glassware (less fine).  She was just messing around with the plastic lids to the glass bowls, but ...

The lilacs are blooming The other day I fed TerraDactyl breakfast in her highchair while she was still wearing her footie pajamas.  Afterward I was changing her clothes and I found a Cheerio in the back of the waistband of her diaper.  How??  I have no idea. How did you get there?? Our asparagus beds are already producing asparagus!  I'm pretty excited.  There's a few that look ready for harvest.  I'm not sure what variety they are, but they're purple! Asparagus! If I'm going to be able to open and close the refrigerator door, TerraDactyl demands a toll.  She wants something from inside the magic box.  So I've been letting her play with the Worcestershire sauce.  It's a good size for her and it's a plastic bottle.  It seems safe enough.  Until she learns how to open it and gets a taste that is... Don't even think of taking it away. TerraDactyl has learned how to tip over the boxes of clothes she's outgrown....

Does anyone remember where I put my keys? How appropriate is that sentence?  The days are getting longer.  In just about every way.  They feel longer to people because of social distancing.  They feel longer to me because some days TerraDactyl is just plain fussy.  (She's a good baby, I know I'm spoiled.  But that doesn't mean every day is easy).  The days are literally longer, what with the sun rising earlier in the morning.  And unfortunately...  My adorable, lovely, wonderful child is sensitive to the earlier sunrises.  She doesn't get up with the sun (thank goodness!) but she's definitely shifting the time she wakes up.  Boo.  Do you think I left my keys here? I can't decide if TerraDactyl is fussier since she's waking up earlier, or if I'm just more irritable since I'm losing that last bit of sleep I was hoping for.  I've got to figure out how to shift my bedtime earlier.  But that's something I've st...

TerraDactyl is getting so good at standing I really should read recipes more closely.  I had another easy bag of Betty Crocker mix in the pantry, but this time it was Peanut Brittle.  I was SO focused on the fact that I didn't have to add ANYTHING to the mix.  I missed some crucial information.  But I mean, how weird is this?  Pour this powdered mix into a pan and bake it.  And it comes out Peanut Brittle?  It seemed like some weird Youtube hoax.  Anyways, I missed the "greased" pan part.  It's peanut brittle.  Of course it needs a greased pan.  I managed to get it all out of the pan, but it was a real challenge.  I totally bruised my hand (pushing too hard on the fork) and made a huge mess.  But I'm SO glad I used a glass pan instead of a metal one.  I probably would have scratched the heck out of a metal pan and had to toss it.  Spying on the neighbors - making sure they're self isolating properly ...

Enjoying life to the fullest TerraDactyl has graciously decided to start eating beans.  Well, black beans.  I haven't tried any others.  They're pretty easy to feed her, as long as I'm also eating beans.  She only ever eats a few at a time, so it's hard to microwave 6 beans.  :)  But if I'm eating beans, I just put an extra spoonful in for TerraDactyl.  And then I use my fingers to squash them flat and drop them on her tray.  She ate about 10 last night at dinner.  I was super excited.  It seems silly, but it's basically the only non-sugar item that she eats.  Wonder Woman is Terradactyl's favorite It could be a coincidence, but I think TerraDactyl can remember a few of her favorite books.  When she's tired and ready for a nap, she grabs her "Going to Bed Book" that we always read before naps.  And yesterday, I started reciting "Moo, Baa, La La La" and TerraDactyl crawled over to me and handed the correct book ...