JourneyLeaf: Life a Page at a Time

Pink Cherry Days Are Here Again

Yes, Pink Cherry Days are back!  

In 2009, almost-two-month-old Eli sat in his bouncy seat in the middle of the table while we made cupcakes together.  Sometimes he waved a cupcake paper around, but mostly he just upped the sweetness level of the project.  This year, Eli sat beside the table and was very busy...

Eli helped by wadding and chewing spare cupcake papers.

 

He made sure the mixing spoon didn't fall asleep, waving it around and occasionally bonking it on the table.
 

 

(I promise Eli's spoon never touched the cupcakes!)

 

Eli kept super busy eating slices of fresh cherries (although he really wanted to get his hands on the sticky ones from the jar).  
 

 

And our results?  Treats topped with heart-shaped cherry gumdrops!  They are headed to work with Papa this morning.  Hopefully they will bring some smiles.

 

Now if I can just train Eli to wash pans!

But seriously....  It poured rain yesterday afternoon, the day gray and dark.  But we were warm inside, the lamps glowing.  I put on one of my favorite playlists -- favorite hymns by various artists.  I sang along and stirred batter and occasionally poked Eli in the tummy with a spoon to hear that baby laugh.  Soon the house smelled cherry sweet.  The memories are even sweeter.  Looking forward to many more years of Pink Cherry Days.

Snoopy and the Gang

An excellent birthday yesterday!  It was rainy and blustery, but we bravely headed north through the wine country to the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa.  

 

 

We arrived in time for some children's programs -- storytelling, games, toys, and crafts.

 

It was too wet to go outside to walk around the Peanuts sculptures in the courtyard, but we could see them from the porch.  My favorite was the large kite sculpture (red and blue) up in the tree complete with tangles of "string" -- a tribute to Charlie Brown's troubles.

 

Eli says, "Schroeder, you play some nice tunes..."
 

 

"...but let me show you how it's really done."

 

Exploring the gift shop (of course)

 

Snoopy says, "Wait, Eli!  You're going the wrong way!"
 

 

"Hello, Snoopy.  If I beep your nose, will you share your cookie?"
 

 

"No luck with Snoopy's cookie.  Hello, Woodstock...."

 

Part of the complex is an ice skating rink.

 

Granddad introduced Eli to the Zamboni.  Noisy, but very intriguing.

Birthdays

Mama's First Birthday...

Papa's First Birthday...

  

Eli's First Birthday!

 

Beep! Beep!

"Eeeeahu," said Eli.  I'm not exactly sure what that meant, but one chubby finger was pointing at a large, brightly colored object several feet away.  We were in our local Toys R Us to shop just in the baby food section.  Just in the baby food section.  But we passed through clearance to get there and Eli spotted a toddler riding car.

I knew better, yet I let Eli climb in.  He was soon squealing and grinning.  I was grinning too.  I've always had a soft spot for the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.  And because it debuted in 1979, the 30th Anniversary Edition we were staring at is last year's news and this year's half off item.  My sensible side was crumbling.  Eli already has a small riding car that is very nice, but he's not old enough to push himself so adults get backaches leaning over to push him.  The Cozy Coupe, besides being darn cute, has a high roof for easy pushing.  Hmmm.  Eli's birthday money from Aunt Lydia/Cousin Tina's family and Cousin Norma was in my purse.  Hmmm.  

 I'm sure Eli will enjoy both cars.   

 

I pushed Eli all around Toys R Us in the Cosy Coupe.  He waited patiently with both hands on the wheel at the check out while the lady scanned the clearance sticker on the front bumper.  Afterwards we did a motor tour of the sidewalk.  Vroooooom!   Vroooooom!  Then it was time to take the toddler out of his toy car and put him in his car seat.  If those of you on the East Coast heard a faint but long screech from the west around 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, that was Eli.

 

 

 

At the end of the video, Eli says, "Wah."  That means, "I'm ready!  Push me!"

Winter Light

This Christmas holiday we spent an afternoon at the home of our dear friends, the C family.  (Note:  I try never to put surnames on my blog for privacy reasons.)  When I was in the second grade, I was invited to Frances C's birthday party that took place ten to twelve.  My mother somehow thought this meant to arrive at ten minutes to twelve, so she brought me to the party just before noon.  But the party was actually from ten until twelve, so we arrived as it was breaking up.  As you can imagine, I was quite disappointed!  So Mrs. C invited me to stay the day and play.  It was one of the very best mistakes my mother ever made.  I've been friends with Frannie and her family ever since.  

In high school, I hung out at the C house a lot.  An awful lot.  Frannie is my age while sister Rachel is one year younger, and they were excellent company; both sisters are creative and passionate people but also kind.  The C house was always a peaceful, easygoing place where I felt at home.  Mama Janet is an accomplished pianist and organist.  Papa Rex is an engineer who built their house himself.  The sisters always had something interesting going from music to art projects to poetry.  It has always been the sort of house where music is playing (often in person rather than the CD player), something yummy is baking in the oven, and somebody is always up for a long walk in the woods.  I spent many happy hours at the C house, especially in late high school.  Sometimes weekend after weekend I'd sleep over, not wanting to miss pancake breakfasts, skipping stones down at the river, woods tromps with the dogs running around us in circles, and late-night laugh-fests over homemade cookie dough.

This past Christmas when we visited, it was in the middle of Eli's bout with teething and poor sleep.  Thus Brian and I arrived on the C doorstep sleep-deprived and a little rattled.  Kindness and comfort abounded.  Nobody minded that Eli spilled Cheerios on the floor or put fingerprints on the windows.  Rex and Janet played with him and taught him words and showed him interesting objects to touch.  There was a home cooked meal served in pretty dishes.  There was conversation around a crackling fire.  And when Brian and I looked weary, we were offered a place to nap.  In most places, I would politely refuse such an offer, but the C home has long been a refuge.  We gratefully sank down into pillows and woke up feeling much better.

The C house is an aesthetically pleasing place.  Rex designed the house to have plenty of light and the windows become like frames highlighting the woods outside.  Janet loves to ramble in antique shops or brings back treasures from their many travels, creating an interior of interesting objects set in soft shades of dusky purple and turquoise.  The house feels rustic and woodsy yet somehow light and airy.  I didn't grow up in a home that was carefully decorated, so I was fascinated with the C home when I began hanging out there.  I quickly learned how a few touches can make life feel a little more beautiful, and such care can actually create an easygoing living space rather than one that feels fussy.

As a mother, I aspire to create a home that feels as welcoming and creative as the C house for Eli and his friends.

(I even felt comfortable pulling out my camera during our visit...)

Simple but Good Food, Served with Visual Appeal (the butter dish)

A Peaceful Place for a Nap

Learning Something New
 

A House Nestled into Nature
  

A Place Full of Peace
 

Eli with the C 's Last March
 

Look, Ma! I'm Feeding Myself!

"Sure, there's a little confusion sometimes about which part of the spoon to use."

"Sometimes I have a little trouble knowing what parts of a food are actually edible."

"There are a few minor kitchen disasters along the way."

"But that's all just a normal part of learning how to feed myself," says Eli.  

Eli has been eating finger foods for a while now, but in December he started getting much more interested in feeding himself with a spoon.  Quite often the food slides off before he gets it to his mouth.  He's cheerful about it, though, and simply goes back to the bowl for another scoop.  The first few times he got a big bite of food into his mouth by himself, you should have seen the beautiful pride on his face.

Before I had a baby, I never realized how much problem solving and product testing would be involved.  We're on our third diaper bag.  I think we went through about five sippy cups before we found the best one for Eli.  Surely, though, a baby spoon is just a baby spoon, right?  Sigh.  Wrong.

If a spoon bowl is too shallow, liquids spill out.  If they are too deep, it is hard for a baby to take the food out.  Long-handled spoons are easier for feeding babies.  But when they start feeding themselves, short handles are much better.  (With a long-handled spoon, Eli kept passing his mouth and slapping food against his cheek!)  And little hands can grip a thick handle more easily.  

 

Our favorite spoon to feed Eli with is the Munchkin spoon on the far left.  For Eli to feed himself, we love the Boon spoon on the far right.  The neck of the spoon has wire in it so you can bend it to the side.  Learners like Eli don't have to angle their wrist to taste success.

Watching Eli feed himself is a lot of fun.  But sometimes I do wish we had a dog to snap up all those falling treats so Mama doesn't have to spend five minutes on her hands and knees with a sponge!

Still More Baby Travel Tips (12 Months Old)

In late December, Eli made his thirteenth airplane flight.  It was admittedly a little harder to keep him occupied during the five-hour flight than it was when he was smaller.  Still, he did very well!  He was a happy little guy and he got lots of compliments both coming and going.  (Thank goodness for baby-loving strangers willing to play 1,001 rounds of peek-a-boo between the seats!)

When we first started traveling with Eli, there were so many things to figure out!  I wrote about some of the things we did to make trips easier on March 30 and May 6.  There are two more tips I would add to my previous lists...

First, one of the challenges of airplane flights is trying to get a baby to drink during takeoffs and landings.  Swallowing keeps the pressure from building up in their ears and giving them an earache, but it is so hard to time it right!  Even if they are actually hungry during takeoff and landing, when you give a baby a bottle or the breast, they usually slurp up what they want quickly and are done long before the ascent or descent is over.  I found giving Eli liquid in a medicine syringe is a great solution.  He found this approach to drinking different and interesting, so he kept on swallowing.  And to keep it interesting, I gave him a liquid that wasn't his usual fare.  I put water and a few Gerber freeze-dried yogurt bites in the cap of Eli's bottle to make "juice."  Since Eli doesn't usually get juice, this was interesting indeed, yet not too sugary.  Worked like a charm!  He periodically sipped and swallowed just as I hoped.  In the future, however, I'm going to carry an empty liquid medicine bottle for this purpose so I don't have to worry about spilling.  I'll put the dry yogurt bites into the clean bottle then add the liquid just before we need it.  When he's done, I can just put the top on and throw the bottle into the diaper bag.

 

The second tip I would recommend is making sure all toys are tethered.  Airplane seats are small enough as it is.  If you have a baby on your lap, you sure aren't going to be able to grab items accidentally dropped (or purposefully flung away).  Here is our system...

I have a zipper-closure bag that I keep a few toys for Eli in when we are away from home.  (Our bag is actually a reusable fabric lunch bag from the humorously-named company Mimi the Sardine, but many types of bags will do.)  I keep it zipped shut until we're sitting on the plane and slip my seat belt through one handle so I can't accidentally drop the whole bag.  Then I have two or three nylon tethers with snap closures that secure various toys to the bag's handles.  (These tethers are Secure-a-Toy by Baby Buddy brand and they work really well for us, but you can find homemade versions on Etsy.)  I can swap out toys easily by undoing the snaps and can fit multiple toys on one tether.

Some toys naturally have places to put a tether, but some do not.  I find that I can usually tie thin ribbon (see red above) to a toy to create a tether loop.  

Happy travels with your wee ones!  If you have any travel tips of your own, I'm all ears!

Update:  My friend Amity pointed out that it is very helpful to carry new toys with you so your baby is more interested in them.  Borrowing from friends or squirreling away toys several weeks in advance so they seem new are inexpensive ideas.

Cairns

A few days ago I said to myself, "Self, do you realize you jump on the blog and post at the craziest times?"  And it's true.  I posted on the blog before Eli and I were even out of the hospital last year.  I post in the middle of the night when I can't sleep.  I post when Eli is sick and I catch a few moments to myself after he's drifted off.  Writing is as necessary to me as cooking nutritious food, exercising, and keeping up with the household chores.  Those things help keep my body and mind on track.  Writing (with some photography sprinkled in) helps keep my soul on track.  My family comes first, yet I know I have to find time to fit personal writing in or I'll suffer for it.  Eventually my relationships will suffer for it.

I keep two running journals.  The first is a regular diary that I've been keeping on and off since the second grade.  That one is only for my eyes.  Then, in the spring of 2008 when I was pregnant and contemplating a move far from home, I began the second journal -- my blog.  The journals serve a similar purpose, yet the blog has a communal side to it.  I think of journal writing this way...

While in graduate school, I lived not far from Great Smoky Mountain National Park and headed out for a hike through the forest as often as I could.  Every once in a while, at trail intersections or particularly scenic spots, I'd find a cairn.  Sometimes the stacks of stones were small -- somebody's marker so they would remember which faint trail they came up.  At other times the stacks were large, substantial enough to last and help others find their way.  Some of the latter were unorganized heaps of rocks and you could tell this was a monument created across many years and by many hands.  Passing hikers added a stone as if to say, "Yes, I too was here."

My diary entries are cairns for me.   I mark intersections in my life in case I need to remember information...or to find my way back to the person I used to be.  I honor particularly scenic or momentous spots.  I may wish to return to stand there again through rereading.  These entries are like the small cairns marking a trail or important place.  This blog fulfills some of those same purposes, yet it is also a way of nurturing community, a shared cairn.  I share what I'm learning to give pleasure and help to others who find something in common with my life and my words.  Similarly, I read other people's weblogs.  They bring me pleasure and sometimes help me find my way through the often-confusing paths of motherhood or cooking conundrums or creative puzzles involving writing or photography.  I love that blogs just sit there patiently on the Web.  Like a stack of stones, they are there if you want to pay attention to them yet don't mind if you'd rather quietly walk on by.  

They say that there's nothing new under the sun.  But the Web has given us a new way to tell our own stories.  I'm grateful.

Eli Update

Our little guy is feeling better now!  His appetite is still slow, but he's got more energy and is sleeping well.  Thanks for the check-ins and well-wishes and prayers!

Sick II

I admit it.  I signed up for this.  Brian and I wanted a child very much and knew when we tried for one that days like Thursday were possible.  We just didn't know how such days would feel.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, Brian got sick.  A few minutes later, I checked on Eli and realized he'd had a relapse.  (I'll be nice and not describe the state of his crib.)  Thus began a rather unpleasant Thursday without much rest for any of us.  The washing machine chugged along constantly in the background while I tried to faithfully to follow the pediatrician's orders to coax a teaspoon of liquid into Eli every ten minutes  -- Pedialyte, Gatorade, coconut water, and pediatric electrolyte popsicles dispensed by sippy cup, by straw, by medicine syringe, and by letting a messy toddler tip the bottle himself.  Although temporarily lured by new flavors and new privileges, on the whole Eli did not think this hydration business was a good idea.  Thus the two of us spent the day in pajamas soggy with dribbled-out liquids.  And despite shampooing him twice, Eli's hair still smelled yucky.  I'm sure mine did too, because when your sick baby wants to cling to you, you're thinking only of giving comfort.  If any Jehovah's Witnesses had showed up on the front step Thursday, I think I could have scared them off simply by answering the door "as is."  

But I swear...Eli has this way of knowing when I'm getting near the end of my rope. 

Wee hours on Thursday.  When I lift Eli from the crib, his eyes are red and his face pale.  He somberly watches the strange, off-schedule doings that follow.  Soon I'm flecked in vomit and worse from stripping down my child and his bed.  It is bath time in the middle of the night by myself and am so tired from this crazy week that I'm weaving a little on my feet.  While perched on my hip, Eli silently oversees as I plug in the space heater and, with one hand, fill his plastic tub with warm, sudsy water.   Into the bath he goes, his eyebrows knitted with concern.  I'm thinking that any moment now he's going to start wailing, especially as I have to scrub to get foreign bits out his hair.  "I'm trying to be gentle," I promise him.  And then he looks up at me, his eyes full of trust, and gives me the most dazzlingly sweet smile.  Grace.  

I admit that I signed up for this.  And it is worth it.