Six Months

Six months... It's a long time. Half a year. It's about 20% of my daughter's entire life. It's long enough for the weather to go from just past summer to trying to start spring. And it's also how long it's been since I've written a meaningful post about my sweet girl. Sigh.

So, now I have six months worth of memories to try to document at least a tiny bit. Not at all intimidating, right? So, in the style of one of my new favorite things to do instead of blogging guilty pleasures, Glee, here's what you've missed....

SEPTEMBER

brought the Little Kumquat's first day of school!

Really, her first day of MDO, but whatever.

We also took a trip to Vegas (yes, again)...

to celebrate this guy's birthday...

'cause that's how we roll.

Oh, it was Lolo's birthday, too!

She had so much fun hanging out with her cousins!!

OCTOBER

was all about pumpkin patches, glorious fall days, and pirates!

NOVEMBER

brought birthdays, cousins, and turkeys!

Cutest. Turkeys. Ever.

Matching, matching!

K calls this "Swipper Feet Dancin'"

The babies' first time in a swing!! ♥

And I think that's good for now. Stay tuned for round 2 of this crazy whirlwind catch-up!

Bloggercize

I've recently decided that blogging is a bit like exercising for me.

• It's good for me.
• It makes me feel great.
• I like doing it (really, I do!).
• I have a hard time making it a priority.
• Once I fall off the wagon, it's way hard for me to get back on.
• The longer the amount of time that goes by, the more overwhelming it feels to start over.
• I spend a great deal of time & energy mentally nagging myself to just get on it already and very little time taking any sort of action.

Sometimes it's best to just jump right in when you're trying to get back in the groove. At least that's what I tell myself. BUT, I keep putting off that big jump until there's more time, energy, auspicious alignment of the stars, whatever... You get the idea.

So, maybe what I need is just to put a toe in the water and start with that. Please consider this my brisk walk around the block. :)

Uncles

This morning, the Little One & I were looking at her family photo album. She was cracking me up about her uncles, Kevin and Dave, who are twins.

MKG: Baby, who is this?

K: Uncah Keeben

MKG: And who is that?

K: An Mimi

[K turns the album upside down]

K: Dis?

MKG: Uncle Kevin

K: No, no, Mama.

MKG: Aunt Mandy?

K: No, no, no!

MKG: That's Uncle Kevin, sweetie.

K: No, no! Dave.

[K turns album right-side-up]

K: Uncah Keeben

[Turns album upside-down & points to the same picture]

K: Dave

Losing the War

I hate to think of healthy eating as a war, but that's how it feels lately. I really do try hard to feed my family wholesome, nutritious meals. I spend a lot of time thinking about them, shopping for them, and offering them to a certain little Kumquat. Take today's lunch, for example...

It's a well-balanced meal that's primarily made up of organic ingredients, including the baby carrots, avocado, hummus, and greens. The wrap is whole grain, the "cheese" is Veggie Slices and the turkey is Applegate Farms' hormone & antibiotic & other icky stuff-free. I don't mean to be tooting my (repurposed, fully recyclable) horn... It's just an example that I really do think hard about this stuff! It's cut up into toddler-friendly, finger food-sized bits and there are 2 options for dip. Recently, I've had success with the hummus, avocado, cheese, wrap & carrots. So, it's a mix of "success" foods & "stretch" foods that she either hasn't tried or hasn't liked. And the plate is fun, right? Can you guess what her plate looked like after our hour-long lunch was over?

Yup. Exactly the same. I have to say, this is totally killing my motivation to try to feed her well. I know we eat out far more than we should. It broke my heart that when we were running errands earlier, she saw a McDonald's and said, "Yay, eat!!" We seriously do not go to McDonald's often at ALL. So, I'm kinda feeling like a rotten mama today. :( At least there's a great Girls' Night Out at Holiday Galleria to look forward to!

And the winners are...

Congrats to HEATHER and MANDY for winning the 2 pairs of tickets to Holiday Galleria this weekend! So, get ready to take your mom, your sister, your BFF, Laura, or whomever and get shopping!! I'll Facebook you to make arrangements to get the tix to you.

BTW, I AM going to the GNO on Friday. Let me know if anyone wants to get together there!

Good for Them & Good for You!

Where or where does the time go?? I've been meaning to do this post for almost a month now. Sigh!

Well, one place my time has been going recently is to the Junior League. I usually avoid talking too specifically about where we live, but I'm ignoring that rule today. Because today is all about my community! I feel remarkably fortunate to live the life I have. My husband, daughter & the rest of my family are so fabulous, precious and supportive. We are comfortable. Do we have a gazillion dollars in student loans to think about each month? Yup. Do we have a great & safe neighborhood, plenty to eat, and the opportunity to travel & visit the aforementioned, much-loved family? Yup. I strongly believe that since I have been given these opportunities, it is my responsibility to give to my community in support of those who do not have so much. I also have wanted to get to know my new home better. It is my hope to return to counseling at some point and I think that counselors have an obligation to be familiar with community resources in order to advocate appropriately for their clients. Plus, how will I take advantage of all this place has to offer (and I do believe that anywhere you live has much to offer, as long as you're willing to look and engage in what's available) if I don't know what's here?

So, I took the lead of a couple Chicago friends who were involved in JLI & my neighbor who is a past-president of the local Junior League chapter and I joined the Junior League of Wichita (JLW). Phew! Has this added to my stress level! It's not that there are crazy expectations or anything. It's just tricky to meet obligations when you have an unpredictable toddler and no family in town to dump her on watch her for me. BUT, it also has been a great way to better understand my community and to contribute something to the greater good.

Let me tell you a bit about that...

In its first 85 years, "JLW has contributed over $5.8 million to the Wichita community in the form of community projects and training programs. In addition, over $44 million in-kind services in the form of volunteer hours have been donated to improve the quality of life in the Wichita area." (from the JLW Fast Facts sheet - there's lots more great info on JLW there!). These projects are all related to topics the League has identified as areas of interest and include: aging, children, the environment, violence, women, volunteerism, & promoting the City of Wichita. You can read specific position statements on each of these topics here. Many of these topics are ones that are very close to my heart and I am happy to be involved in an organization that works to address these issues within our community.

One of the major sources of funding for all of the work we do is the annual Holiday Galleria. It's taking place THIS WEEKEND, Oct. 7-10 at Century II in Wichita. It is a shopping extravaganza that features 115 national and regional retailers. Tickets are $8 and go to support the work of JLW.

I have to confess that I've never been before, but it really sounds like a good time. There are some extra special events, too. (I'm hoping to go to the Girls' Night Out on Friday night. Anyone wanna join me??) I hope you'll consider coming, spreading the word, and supporting JLW!

As an extra incentive, I'm doing a little giveaway! I have 2 pairs of tickets that I will give away to 2 winners chosen by random.org. To enter, just do one (or more) of the following...

- Tweet about Holiday Galleria

- Promote it on Facebook

- Promote it on your blog

- Become a fan of Holiday Galleria on Facebook

Then, just leave a comment (on my blog!) that you have done so. Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each. You have until NOON on WED., OCT. 6 to enter. Winners will be announced that night!

Good luck and get shopping!!

Quickly Growing Kumquats!

I thought I was so ahead of the game! I started writing this post before K's 22-month birthday (I know, I know...) and I even faithfully took pictures of her on the actual day she turned 22 months. And then? I lost the memory card. And found it. And went out of town. And got sick. And... well, whatever. So, it's getting close to her 23rd month birthday, but I'm posting this anyway. I really wanted to be sure to get down what she's doing now versus when she actually turns 2.

This week, my little girl turned 22 months old! Ugh. She’s getting so close to being 2. I can’t even believe it. A friend recently informed me that she has now passed the age when I can refer to her age in months without sounding like an obsessive, anal mama. She said it was time to move on and start responding to age questions with, “She’ll be 2 in November.” :)

It’s amazing how much she still changes week to week. We’ll be seeing DKG’s family soon. We were talking last night about how amazed his family will be when they see her. She’s doing so many new things, even from our CA trip back in June. That being said, she is also very much the same. She’s such a sweet, silly, happy, ridiculously-cooperative-but-still-a-spitfire girl she’s always been. I really just adore her and am so very thankful I get to be her mama.

Little Kumquat, you just melt your mama’s heart every day. Here are some of the big things you’re doing now...

♥ You are learning SO much, SO quickly! I can’t even count how many times in the past month that I have said, “I didn’t know you knew that.” Here are some academic-type highlights:

• COLORS: You can now identify red, yellow, green, blue, purple, yellow, white, black, brown, pink and grey. When I come to get you out of your crib in the mornings, the first thing you say is usually the color of my shirt, followed by the color of your shirt, and then the colors of all the various buddies in your bed. :)
• LETTERS: You know your letters! You don’t know the alphabet song just yet, but you’ve got all the letters down. It’s taking up a super-long time to read a book now because you like to point at each letter and tell me what it is. You recently saw the LeapFrog video “The Letter Factory,” and now also like to tell me what sound each letter makes. It’s precious, even though it does slow us down a bit.
• NUMBERS: You can count to 13! I didn’t even know you knew your numbers until recently. We were reading a book with numbers outlining the pages. I heard you whispering “seh-seh,” but I wasn’t sure what you were saying. Eventually, I asked, “Seven? Do you see a seven on the page?” and you immediately pointed to the seven. You then informed me that you actually could recognize all of the numbers from 0-9 and also could say 5 (“mie”), 6 (“sis”), and 8 (“eet”). Now you “count” (point at things and recite numbers) everything in sight and say 1 (“wan”), 2 (“doo”), 3 (“hee”), 4 (“oh-are”), 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (“mine”), 10 (“en”), 11 (“leh-len”), 12 (“del”), 13 (“za-deen”)... You also hit 18 and 19 pretty well. And, just for the record, counting past 10 is all you! Your daddy and I had nothing to do with that. You were counting one day and just kept on going.
• SHAPES: Another surprise for us. One day we were trying to get you to say “square” just for fun (not even in reference to the shape) and you went over to a shape-sorter and pointed to the square. Who knew? You showed us that night that you also recognized circles and triangles, even if you couldn’t say them just yet. Now, you can say all of their names, plus you recognize and say star, heart, diamond, and oval.
• ANIMALS: You recognize a ridiculous number of animals, sign and say their names and make their sounds. You still love cat, bear, dog, elephant, and monkey the best, I think. We love to hear you say “armadillo” (“dill-OH”) and to make your bunny face.

♥ You are a busy, active little girl! You’ve become quite the confident climber! Just in the past couple of days, you’ve started to worry your mama a bit, as you tried to climb out of your crib and up the kitchen drawers. I guess it’s time to review our Kumquat-proofing! Most of the time, though, you try to climb INTO your bed much more than out. You just love to jump and dance! You’re so proud to be able to jump with 2 feet off the ground.

♥ You have quite a strong opinion on things. A friend tried to sing “Wheels on the Bus” with you recently and you adamantly refused to join (or act like a remotely sane human being) unless she sang the verses in the correct order thankyouverymuch. As she said, you “like it how you like it.” And that’s the story of my life these days. :)

♥ Your favorite place on Earth is My Gym. It’s something of an addiction. You either call it “monkey” (from the logo) or “see-saw” (from part of the warm-up routine). You beg to go there every single day and you are so, so sad when I have to tell you that “Monkey is resting today.” I may or may not have altered my route to some places due to the complete and utter heartbreak I know will ensue if we drive within a mile radius and don’t go to a class.

♥ You have been in 13 states (or 18 + DC, if you count when I was pregnant!) and love to fly. You point out any airplane you ever hear or see and usually wave and say “Bye!” to it. :)

♥ You have more and more stuffed buddies all of the time (where do they all come from??), but you and Pink Kitty are still BFF’s.

♥ You are going to start “school” (really Mom’s Day Out) next week. Your daddy and I are both misty about that... him more than me, I think. :)

I love what a snuggly sweet girl you are. Waking up and snuggling during a couple cartoons while you drink your milk and I drink my coffee is truly my favorite time of the day. And that says a lot for someone who is not. a. morning. person. :) I wish you could be my sweet baby forever, but I do love you more and more each day and just adore watching you learn and discover new things. It’s precious to watch you overcome a challenge and demonstrate new skills with pride. It makes my heart full of joy watching the big girl you’re becoming already! Love you, Little K!