Her Vessel's Home Port (or, "HD Sings of Her Hometown")

A LOT has been going on the past few weeks.  We hosted the in-laws for Easter, I left the Hubs and HD for a much-needed gals' trip, and Hubs and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.  I'm still working on the post to sum up the trip after a couple of weeks getting back into the swing of things at home and work.  Oh, and have I mentioned that starting next week, I'm going part time at work???  [Although, it sounds like a bigger deal than it is -- I'll be 90% time, which equates to every other Friday off.  Still, more time with le bebe and laundry!]

So to tide y'all over until the extra wordy posts come, I give you, HD singing her new anthem:

She attempts to segue into "I've Just Seen a Face" by The Beatles (a.k.a. The Harper Song), but gets stuck on the "I can't..." opening to one of the lines.  She sings the ENTIRE song normally, but is a bit skittish around cameras.  Apparently, she did not get my hamming for camera genetics as much as previously thought.  Let's try that again:

We plan on opening our own cabaret.  [Oh, and "1,2,3 Max?"  That's her making up a ditty about Where the Wild Things Are.  We're still trying to figure this kid out.]

Conch Shells and Sea Chanties (or, "How HD at 22 Months is Like DP Mama at 13 Years")

Firstly, witness the cute that is my child when she purposely smiles for the camera:

Secondly, be thankful for that extremely rare footage.  We have a hard enough time just getting her to be still enough for us to capture candid stuffs she's doing, never mind a full-blown pose...

Lately, HD has become a little music obsessed.  I am very proud to say that she gets this from my side of the family, as my father, brother, and I are all a bit snobbish and faux scholarly when it comes to music, a la High Fidelity.  

So imagine my excitement the past month or so when all of a sudden, HD wants involvement in all sorts of musical processes.  She's always loved being sung to, and she'll more or less stop in her tracks to pay attention if she ever hears music on TV -- especially, inexplicably, for the HIMYM theme song.  But now?  She's constantly singing (she's got the entire first verse to A Pirate Looks at Forty down pat, I kid you not), she wants to play her xylophone and pots-and-pans drums constantly, and she can identify most instruments when she sees them (thanks to Animal Orchestra!).  I'm on the brink of busting out my old clarinet just to give her a thrill.

I was at Target last weekend, and I picked up a pair of children's headphones for HD.  We're heading on a cross-country flight later this summer, so I picked up a pair thinking we could use them for (last chance, emergency only) cartoon-viewing on Hubs's iPad.  HD was instantly drawn to her pink present, and was astounded when she realized that these magical things were basically her own private musical experience.  And she's been enamored ever since.

  

I've been trying to expose HD to all sorts of tunes.  My view?  She hears enough of I'm a Little Teapot at daycare.  I'm there to help guide her into understanding how pop music and the history of the world go hand in hand.  Do we love the Yo Gabba Gabba soundtrack?  Hell yes.  But it's important that kids know who Elvis is, and the glory of Otis Redding, and Mahalia Jackson, and Led Zeppelin, and Jimmy Reed, and Steve Earle, and Dolly Parton, and Raphael Saadiq, and Jenny Lewis, and the Cure (don't tell Hubs!) and...  Anyway.  Suffice it to say that HD's new fave pastime is to put on headphones, crawl into my lap, and make requests while Mama plays DJ on the iPod.   

Behold, my bebe's first time experiencing her own private concert on headphones.  I am so proud.

Words from My Wee Bairn (or, "Things HD Says")

So, we've been getting a lot of comments from folks about the kid lately.  Comments that infer people believe she's a year or two older that she actually is.  I'm still trying to figure out if this means people are blown away by her brilliance or they just think my itty bitty (who isn't two until June) looks like a preschooler.  She's not big, but she is pretty tall and has a lot of hair for her age.  So it's a toss up either way.

I'll leave it to you, dear readers.  Here's some photos courtesy of one of the moms at HD's daycare, along with a list of the most recent HD-isms.

• "See-ta-tay-toh" = sweet potato.  As in, "Go restowant for see-ta-tay-toh fies!" 
• "Sah Fasis-sko" = San Francisco.  She has a book of SF sites, and she loves to bring it with us when we go up to the City.  We did Fishermen's Wharf yesterday, and I can definitely attest that my baby is a city girl through and through.  
• "I want need."  No seriously.  She says "need" like it's the objective noun.  Full stop.
•  She constantly requests "The Harper Song," which in actuality is I've Just Seen a Face by The Beatles.  This is at times shortened to "ha-song" when she's getting frustrated that I won't sing it for the 14th time before 6:45am.  
• "I can't wait to go to school."  So I made up a really stupid little ditty for HD when she was a tiny baby, and I still sing it for her.  This example is one of the lines from the song, and she says it at random.  Perfectly enunciated, which is hilarious.  She thinks school at this point means daycare. 
• "Uh oh, mangoes!"  She heard the sing-song "uh, oohhh Spaghetti-os" bit from her father, and tried saying it somewhat unsuccessfully (I swear it sounds like "uh oh, bagels").  For whatever reason, she switched the saying to mirror her favorite fruit.  Cracks me up.
• Finally, we have The Mantra.  When HD does one of her toddler freakouts and she's in instant tears, either Hubs or I will say "Relaaaaax."  And she finishes the mantra as follows: "Relaaaaax.  Chill OUT.  Caaamm dowwwn.  Be cool, bay-bee.  Das right!"   And it instantly stops her tears, which is awesome.  

 --

Portrait Finale! (or, "End of Photo Project")

Ta da!  End of the month = end of the photo project.  Here's what happened this past week:

• a fave photo of you -- this is probably the coolest spontaneous shot that our wedding photog took nearly 3 years ago.  It's up on our dining room wall, one of the prominently displayed wedding shots in our house.  Soooo much more "us" than all the posed line-up pics that were taken outside the church!
• where you work -- "the largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States."  This is my extremely battered membership card.  Represent!!
• your shoes -- I actually wore heels to work that day, but since I walk over a mile between the train station and the office I brought my new Tieks (pictured) along.  Hubs's company gave out gift certificates for these shoes as gifts at the corporate holiday party.  SCORE.
• inside your bathroom cabinet -- not room for much other than some toothbrushes (inc. the mini one for HD)
• green -- my brother and I had a blast on Saturday taking HD to the park and local library.  Green swing set, green trees, green jacket.  Seemed right to me!
• night -- this former LA girl is still a sucker for the Oscars, despite the fact that I never have time to see more than 1-2 of the nominated flicks anymore.  I think my obsession is less about the speeches and clothes...and more about the fact that I'm pretty excellent at making Oscar picks (it's all about knowing the Academy's politics, which I'm a bit ashamed to say isn't hard to pick up).  Guess what I did all Sunday night after HD went to bed?
• something you ate -- second time this topic was on the monthly list.  This is one of my favorite home desserts: vanilla ice cream, lots of chocolate sauce, and dry roasted peanuts sprinkled on top.  The perfect salty-sweet, and still good even if the IC and syrup are low fat :)
• money -- in an effort to pretend I have some, here's a glimpse at my wallet.
• something you're listening to -- this was today's shot.  And I was extremely tempted to put in a pic of HD screaming with gumdrop sized tears and snot obscuring her face.  Let's just say that teething incisors makes for a pint-sized drama queen.  But I spared myself the agony of trying to get that shot, and focused on my refuge (iPod) instead.  Play on, Zeppelin.

Have I mentioned my recent obsession with the older model of Fisher Price Little People recently?  These are the ones that any person who was a kid in the 60s-90s will remember.  Apparently they were deemed a choking hazard after 40 years in production, and the new models are a but more...rotund.  I scooped up some of the oldies on eBay and HD is IN LOVE.

Chamber Pots and Wee Ditties (or, "Things the Kid Does at 18 Months")

I've loved being home with the kid the past 2 weeks.  It's been a cool way to test out the stay-at-home Mama thing.  Plus, she's grown up so much in this brief time.  We've started potty training, and had our first success on New Year's Day (trust me, it was way thrilling).  Don't worry, I promise not to get much more detailed than that.  But to any mama readers who are interested, we've been working off the book Diaper-Free Before 3.  HD particularly loves Pirate Potty, Once Upon a Potty, and Potty.   

Also, we've been having all sorts of full on conversations with each other.  Granted, they're mostly about either the time we spent outside earlier that day or the desire to spend more time outside.  But we also have heated debates about the nature of the musical influences behind Yo Gabba Gabba, so that's been pretty stimulating (for me, anyway).  And the dancing!  Still working on catching that one on vid, but I have been thrilled to bop around the house with HD instead of following her with a camera.

And of course, there's the constant singing.  Enjoy a sample:

Pirate in Red, with Crew o' Reindeer (or, "HD Meets the Big Guy")

We've definitely been a little holiday-themed here at The Dread Pirate Mama, but that's kind of the way the daughter is rolling lately.  Kid is obsessed with St. Nick.  Hubs and I had to wake her up yesterday morning, and the first words she uttered the actual second that she opened her eyes were "Santa Claus!"  Keep in mind that HD's only 1.5 years of age, so it's not like she's got a complete understanding of presents just yet.  To her, the Santa excitement doesn't stem from the bringing of toys...it's more the fact that he's basically a new puppet-type character in her life, like her beloved Cookie Monster.  He's a brightly colored squashy dude in an outlandish outfit with corresponding songs and catch phrases. 

She demands Santa songs at odd times of day, usually while being changed.  She takes ornaments from our tree and lays them at the feet of our 10 inch Santa figurine like sacrificial offerings.  She runs around the house chanting "ho, ho, ho, Meery Keefmiff."  So when Hubs and I talked to HD about visiting Big Santa Claus (not to be confused with our little figurine), she could barely contain her excitement.  I was wary, as I have heard many a story about toddler freakouts once in the presence of Santa. 

Last week, we headed to our small town's local fire house.  The amazing firemen hold a free event there each year, and it is 18,000x better than any mall Santa experience.  They have free hot drinks and cookies, a coloring station, and a big pile of actual snow out on their driveway (HD takes after her mama, and flat out refused to touch the stuff).  As the crowning glory of the event, Santa Claus hangs out in a black leather easy chair so the kids can visit him.  We went in the beginning of the event, and got to witness several nervous kids throw mini fits over visiting Santa.  Not so our HD.  Kid full on broke away from Mama and sprinted to Santa.  Thank goodness there wasn't a line to see the big guy.  She was in awe, and all smiles.

We decided to give Santa a break from all the love and allow other kids to visit him.  HD was only mildly pouty about saying goodbye, but was mollified at the coloring station.  Here's her I'm-so-not-sitting-in-the-cool-lap face:

Before we left, there was again no line for Santa (weird since the place was crawling with kids, and he wasn't a creepy Santa).  And HD sprinted up for a return visit.

You may be wondering, in the midst of all this Santa-love, have we discussed the true meaning of the holiday with our child?  Why, of course.  But only because one of the kids at day care taught her how to say "little baby Jesus."  She's now named one of her baby dolls "Little Baby Jesus."  This doll is a Cabbage Patch looking babe with pig tails that my grandmother sewed years ago -- the Jesus moniker would definitely would have warmed her Catholic heart to no end.

Thankful I Be on This Day (or, "17 Months")

 I normally do my Thankful on a Thursday posts over on Facebook each week, but figured it wouldn't hurt to pull it out over here on the blog.

To those of y'all new to the idea, ToaT is all about focusing on the little things that make you grateful at that given point in time.  In my heart, I'm always super thankful for the big guns -- health, gainful employment, my family, freedom, the Tivo.  But as each week brings its little stresses and problems, it's nice to have a stop and smell the roses moment where I focus on much smaller things.  Usually those things tend to be food related, but I may be thankful for the funny kid who made me laugh on the train, or for Joshilyn Jackson novels (sidenote to my Mama -- read Backseat Saints if you haven't yet).  Here's this week's submission:

Thankful on a Thursday: for Honeycrisp apples, to my work for FINALLY ditching Lotus Notes for Gmail, for the prospect of wedding dancing/drinking after a long week, and to a little girl who's given me 17 months of the most fun I've ever had.

HD is 17 months old today.  She talks a blue streak, already using short sentences to ask questions ("where Daddy go?") or issue proclamations ("Mama read book").  She can count to 10, always skipping the number 7 for some unknown reason.  She's so social, always ambling up to other kids or babies to say hi.  Definitely tenacious, very inquisitive, and occasionally a drama queen.  Loves puppies, playing outside, running and hiding under blankets or make-shift forts, and coloring/painting.  Still prefers to be rocked and sung to before bed.  She's rough and tumble, with that awe-inspiring yet heart-stopping toddler sense of invincibility.  It probably sounds like I'm describing any old kid.  But my kid is fearless...except for vacuum cleaners.

HD's "say cheese" face.

Heavens, Mama, it is a bit early for the paparazzi.

She went from patient...

...to "GIMMEOUTNOWMAMAWHY?!"

Vittles, Part Dos (or, "Statis Check: The Kid Continues to Eat Whatever")

So food is pretty much one of my favorite things on the entire face of the planet ever.  There aren't too many things that I'll refuse to try (aside from creatures that are still squirming, or cool ranch Doritos).  When the zombie apocalypse happens, I call pantry-raiding duty.  Hubs loves to play guinea pig to my culinary experiments.  It wasn't always thus -- he subsisted only on butter noodles, cheese pizza, and chicken nuggets for the first 17 years of his life.  I'm forever grateful that dorm and fraternity life beat that finickiness out of him, as (in complete honesty) I would never have gone out with him if he maintained such a strict diet. 

Naturally, we've been pretty curious to see where HD would end up on the foodie spectrum.   I last wrote about this in April, when the kid was really fully getting into solid foods.  Back then, she pretty much ate whatever we placed in front of her until she was no longer hungry.  Now?  It's more or less the same.  Only she gets bored sooooooo quickly.  She's very much a grazer, and loves variety.  Kid would be right at home in a tapas restaurant.  Sure, she enjoys regular kid fare like peanut butter or mac'n'cheese, but she also loves roasted brussels sprouts and shrimp gratin with feta.  Which means she pretty much just eats what we eat -- which is flipping SWEET.  Mama certainly has no plans on being a short-order cook.

Although, I keep hearing that kids get picky with food starting around age 2.  And goodness knows toddlers love nothing more than changing their minds on a dime.  I'm hoping that's one "milestone" we can avoid entirely.  I'll gladly take the "I heart being naked" phase instead.  HD had sushi for the first time last night.  Before you call CPS...no, we did not feed our baby raw fish (just veggie rolls and cooked shrimp dumplings.  But kid scarfed seaweed, fresh ginger, and soy sauce like nobody's business.  All topped by her very first popsicle, since those wicked incisors are trying to push through.

Edemame (kid calls it, "mommy") and her de-contructed veggie rolls.

Mmmm, kiwi strawberry.

Incidentally, HD was super into chopsticks.  She kept wanting to use mine, but couldn't quite figure them out.  I think we have our next assignment.

Ballad of a Lady (or, "She's Always a Woman to Me")

According to the great Billy Joel (a grog- loving pirate if there ever was one), "she never gives out, she never gives in...she just changes her mind."

A Mare Over a Schooner (or, "Even Pirates Say 'Wheeee!'")

My bro and I used to ride this rocking horse when we were kids.  I'm not the biggest advocate of saving everything from childhood, but I'm super glad that my HD has this thing (thanks heaps to my sentimental Daddy!).  Apparently, so is she:

Apologies for the tiny video; it's from Hubs's iPhone.  Oh, and that little sound byte at the end there?  HD is blowing her lips out ("ppppllllllltttttpppp") which is her horse sound.  I mean, obviously.

But seriously, pirates love horses as much as cowboys love boats.  Just ask Lyle Lovett.

Ye Piratical Nature of Me First Matey (or, "Ways My Daughter Is Actually Like a Pirate")

 I submit the following as evidence that HD is, in fact, my child:

• Obsessed with mermaids (or, "mimis" as she calls them)
• Loves shiny jewelry/baubles
• Laughs when she inflicts pain (hair pulling, pinching, the occasional nibble or flailing kicks?  all hilarious when they land upon a parent!  needless to say, we're working on boundaries...)
• Hits the bottle multiple times a day
• Leaves a complete path of pillaged destruction in her wake (we're also working on the concept of putting things away)

Yonder Bermuda Triange (or, "Why Did I Disappear for 3 Weeks?")

There was just too much fun going on the past couple of weeks since I've last written.  Let's do a quick catch-up and get down to kid cuteness, shall we?

A Southern lady-in-training, complete with smocked seersucker and halo.

1.  Vacay to my favorite port town: Charleston, SC.  I'm lucky enough to have folks that live in this awesome city part-time, so we get a free place to crash and free babysitting to boot!  Highlights of the trip were HD's trip to the South Carolina Aquarium (at present time, she deems any land mammal a "puppy" and any water-faring beasite is a "tuh-tuh" -- turtle), LOTS of beach frolicking at Sullivan's Island and Folly Beach (the warm water plants me firmly on Team Atlantic -- take that, majestic beauty of the freezing Pacific!), my father getting me slightly overserved, and HD got to meet her great grandfather and great Aunt Barbara :)

Pop, Mammy (Admiral Granmadre!), HD, and the Cap'n -- 4 generations of devious.

Our first all-looking-at-the-camera, all-smiling family portrait!  At happy hour, no less!

Sandpaper Pappy and HD in Waterfront Park, post-dip in the Pineapple Fountain.

Wind and hilarity at Folly Beach!

 2.  Last weekend we went to our first wedding of 2011 in a very cute winery...and it'll be a busy year on the wedding front.  I get 2 sisters-in-law this year, people.  Incidentally, we're not planning on taking HD to any of the weddings, unless the couple just really wants her there.  Any reader thoughts on this?  Hubs and I look at it as a date day for ourselves to be full dancing/drinking adults (in HD's lifetime, this has only occurred when we're at weddings!), not to mention that toddlers and Catholic ceremonies aren't very compatible.  Besides, HD will prolly have way more fun playing with her grandparents than being shushed in a church.    

3.  The institution of Workout Wednesdays.  Neither Hubs nor I are trying to lose any weight, but we do want increased energy to run after a toddler, plus the strength to man-handle her effectively.  So we've  begun working out together one day a week after she goes to bed -- a Jillean Michaels DVD here, some Netflix Watch Instantly pilates classes there (yup, I LOVE that Hubs is secure enough to give pilates a go...and he liked it!).  We're adding in a second weekday in August, and then committing to a weekend day by September.  Baby steps for couch potatoes, folks.

4.  Hubs started a new job!  He now works about 3 miles from our house, instead of 20.  This new lack of commute was especially awesome yesterday, when I was so enthralled in my book that I completely missed my normal train stop on the way home.  I have always vaguely assumed this would happen one day.  Which meant I ended up 2 entire towns south of where my car was parked.  Hubs busted a gut laughing on the phone, then lovingly came to retrieve my stranded ass 15 minutes later so we could pick up HD on time from daycare.  I'm a lucky lady.
__________________________________________________________________________________

With our catch-up out of the way, here's all news HD.  Kid is running around all over the place now, usually with as much grace as a wino.  It's adorable.  Per her daycare provider, she is also now officially a flirt.  One little boy kissed her goodbye after I had strapped her into her car seat, but apparently she likes to sidle up to a different boy regularly to bat her eyes and whisper "hi."  Once she's able to speak in full sentences, I imagine she'll break all sorts of hearts.  In addition to HD's array of animal sounds (horses have been added to that list), she can now point out a bunch of her body parts as well.  She's particularly proud of showing off her round "nummy" after a meal.  HD now is ridin' dirty in a big kid car seat (rear facing of course!) and we retired the infant car seat she first came home in almost 14 months ago.  Finally, Hubs and I are in the super fun process of starting to wean away the bottle.  Our opinionated little miss, who gave up the boob and pacifiers with minimal issues or fuss, has made it clear that a "baba" of milk is her one true love.  She has zero problems with cups as long as they contain water or juice.  Recommendations for process as welcome!

Our daughter, a sucker for the bottle.

The First Mate Has Sea Legs! (or, "Walking")

This has been going on for about 2 weeks now.  The walking that is.  The jabberwocky?  More like a few months.  Enjoy!

Doppelganger Cap'n Madre (or, "Guess What Celebrity My Daughter Thinks Is Me?")

HD's favorite activity of the moment is pulling out one of our boxes of DVDs and strewing them about.  She rifles through them, showing an odd favoritism for Crunch Fitness Fat Blasting Dance Workout.  That is, until she discovered her new favorite...

One Dubloon Short of a Full Chest (or, "11 Months Old")

My daughter is 11 months old today.  She's really only a baby for one more month!  And she's obviously really, really excited about it:

Mama, we discussed this.  Only candid shots post-nap; I'm done with posing.

Here's her "baby tricks" status to date:

• Has a small repitoire of words she says and actually understands, including Daddy/Dada, bye, hi/hey, "quack, quack" (yup, she says this whenever she sees ducks, inc. rubber ones), and puppy.  Although, puppy is slightly debatable, since she tends to call anything that makes her happy (inc. actual dogs) "puppy."  For example dogs, any and all stuffed animals, and yours truly are usually referred to as "puppy."  And to those of you wondering, yes, she can say Mama, but I think I'm in her face so much she doesn't really see the need to ever call my name.
• Climbing.  As in, up our entire staircase.  We're still working on the whole getting down portion.
• Standing on her own for, like, 3 seconds!  Impressive. 
• Not walking on her own just yet.  She loves cruising (walking while holding on to furniture) and really loves her alligator walker.  She loves it so much, she actually gets pissed off at other toys that aren't as awesome as her beloved walker.
• Threw her first full-on temper tantrum on Mother's Day.  We were up at the in-laws house, and her grandma had found an old toy of Hubs's, lovingly cleaned it up, and had it out for HD.  HD thought it was supposed to move around in the same way as the walker -- lo and behold, it did not.  Full blown wails and tears of frustration, leaving me to explain to everyone that no, she wasn't hurt.  Just going through toddler-hood a bit earlier than predicted. 
• Pointing at everything.  My favorite is when you ask her "Where are the pirates?" she points vehemently at this cool pirate flag garland that's hanging up in her room.  Pointing also means that she's able to indicate what she wants in ways other than crying.  Huzzah!

This time last year, I was in a holding pattern.  The last month of pregnancy isn't easy, and not just because of the beached whale/constant need to pee/tiny foot poking you in the ribs feeling.  It's a time where planning goes completely out the window, and you have to be ready for a new person to be in your life at any moment.  You begin to fully comprehend that you will be responsible for another person's safety, well-being, health, happiness.  There were times where I could feel that I was psyching myself out.  "I won't be good enough, I haven't prepared enough, I have no idea what I'm doing." 

But you breathe and ride out that final month.  And when she makes her appearance, she looks into your eyes for the first time as if to say, "Oh, it's you."  You fall instantly, madly in love.  And this tiny little person teaches you every day what it is that you're supposed to do, who it is that you're supposed to be.

Man, I can't wait to get home today to play with my kid.

Vittles (or, "The Kid Eats Whatever")

Hubs was one of those kids who only ate chicken nuggets and pasta
with butter. On the other hand, I devoured "liver mush & eggs" (Daddy's specialty), garlic ANYTHING, and whatever was served at the Strange Seafood Festival my family attended. I am extremely pleased that HD has landed on my side of the foodie fence.

To set the scene, on weekdays Hubs and I eat on the couch while HD plays on the floor next to us (she has supper before Hubs is home from work most days). Her favorite activity as of late is to sidle over to me (managed by cruising alongside the coffee table for support).  She then bobs up and down, attempting to grab anything on my plate. I take this a my cue to then give her bites of my supper. HD loves baba ganooj, brown rice, chicken pie, cornbread, extra garlicky spaghetti, avocado, you name it. And yes to any worrywarts out there, we are very careful about restricting non pediatrician-approved items.

Part of me is supremely proud...the other part just wants to finish my damn meal in peace.

Here are some pics from the past two weeks. Apologies that they're sideways...when I post shots by blogging directly from my phone, that's the way they post. Tried several fixes, but to no avail. If anyone has suggestions on that, comment below (which i always love anyway) or email me!