Quirky Cavan

Since I am no longer able to update the blog on a consistent basis, I will just have to give you the highlights.

**Cavan is now able to dress herself. When I take a shower she gets dressed in her room. This allows her enough time to practice getting her clothes on without relying on me to help. In addition, it gives me a respite from my own frustration in watching her struggle with finding the arm holes and I get to shower alone. What a treat. But, if I don't lay out her clothes for her, we get some interesting concoctions. Here is an especially fashionable choice: blue shirt, pink tie-dyed skirt, Dora knee pads, green Mardi Gras beads, gray socks with pink puppy dogs, and pink shoes. Funny, the knee pads really connect the blue in the shirt to the pink in the skirt and shoes. She must have an eye for couture.

**Cavan came up to me last week and said, "Mommy, when I get bigger I want to be a mommy just like you." Can you visualize my heart melting?

**When Cavan wakes up in the morning, she comes into my room to wake me up. For the previous four mornings, she has brought in two of her stuffed animals and she says, "Mommy, I brought presents. Here's one for you and here's one for Emma." She is so delicious in the morning—it is my favorite time to spend with her. (Skip to an hour and a half later when the not listening starts). In addition, this morning she climbed in my bed so stealthily, I didn't here her. I was awoken to a little whisper in my ear, "Sweetheart...sweetheart. Open your eyes. Open your eyes honey." Sweetheart is right. A perfect way to wake up.

**We have a sliding glass door and for security there is a bar that slides down into the track to reinforce the lock. I asked Cavan to pick up the bar the other day and she kept dropping it. On about the third try and subsequent fumble she exclaims, "Damn stick!" I said, "Cavan, say SILLY stick instead." She does and I think that's the end of it. Then last night, she was playing Go-FISH with her cousins and her cards kept falling off the table. She exclaims again, "Damn cards!" Her cousins looked shocked, started giggling and told me "Cavan said a bad word." Obviously someone in our house gets frustrated often, and I don't think its me (though I will be paying closer attention to what I am saying.) But the English teacher in me is proud that she is cursing in the correct context! Way to use your adjectives!

Melancholy mom

This was the first week of school. Not for my kiddos, obviously, but for my husband, a teacher. It would have been the first week of school for me too, if I was going back to work. The week to meet my students, to reconnect with my colleagues after our summer vacations. The week to feel productive and intelligent again.

But instead, the scope of my productivity now lies somewhere between doing the dishes and laundry, vacuuming and washing the floor, walking the dog, and constantly picking up toys. Oh and attending to the every need of the kiddos.

My new daily routine: Wake up around 8:30 with the kids. Go upstairs for Cavan's one cartoon and a sippy while I make myself coffee. (Note: I do not like coffee, but unfortunately it is necessary for survival after waking up five times through the wee hours.) Then breakfast. Eggs or oatmeal. Cavan's choice. Then shower time. Emma chills in the swing we have in the bathroom. Then back upstairs to read books and practice our letters. (Cavan is learning how to write and draw). Unfortunately, I have to bribe Cavan with another cartoon to practice her letters, so then comes the second cartoon of the day, during which I make some lunch. After lunch, we go for our daily walk, assuming the weather is cooperating. Upon return, we might play on the swing set, or just go inside for another sippy and a nap. It is now between 2-3:30. Cavan usually sleeps for two or three hours—yes, I know I am blessed with a child that both sleeps till 8:30 AND naps in the afternoon—during which I try to get some cleaning done. That is, if I don't take a nap myself, which all depends on Emma. Six or 6:30—Cavan wakes up. Sippy + supper. Hopefully Daddy gets home by 7:00, though lately he has been delayed. Since Cavan naps, she also doesn't go to bed until about 9:30, so Daddy and I get an hour of couch time before we head down to bed. Of course, don't forget about the six-week-old hanging off my boob all day or riding in my Baby Bjorn or Moby wrap. Sometimes she will sleep in the swing, but on a whole, she likes to be held.

Don't get me wrong, I would not have it any other way. I do want to be home to raise my kids. There is nothing better than seeing the excitement in Cavan's face when she writes the letter A for the first time. And sitting on the couch during Cavan's nap with Emma snuggling into my chest is pure peace. But my brain is feeling left out. I feel like I'm not contributing, though I know I'm doing the most important job in the family. I loved my career and my colleagues. I have worked since I was 15. I feel like I have just given up a piece of me, but at the same time, there is nothing I love more than being a mom. This stay-at-homing is a melancholy transition.

Cavan's Critters: Fred, Charlie, and friends

Cavan has made some interesting friends as of late—critters from the animal kingdom. She has always liked creatures—last year she carried around a dead cicada for a month, as a pet. I finally had to throw it away after its wings and legs all fell off. About a month ago after a rain, she found a giant slug outside on our deck. The slug was about four inches long—brown with black spots. My sister was in town visiting, and she encouraged Cavan to name the slug, which earned the moniker Charlie. They started a silly conversation discussing why slugs don't need to sleep with blankets. The answer: because they are slimy and because they have spots. Duh! Doesn't everyone know that?

Then a week or so ago, I went into Cavan's bedroom to wake her up from her nap. As I was sitting on her bed, I saw a piece of black yarn curled on the floor. When I approached the yarn, it started to slither away! It was a baby snake—black with a white ring around its neck. I had no idea what kind it was, but it was only about four inches long and the diameter of, yes, a piece of yarn, so there was no need to panic. I called Hubby and he came down with a cup and scooped it up. Cavan was so excited. Upon research, we found out it was a Northern Ringneck, a completely harmless and beneficial snake to have around, so Cavan carried the cup out to the garden so Fred, as she named him, could "find his family" amongst the marigolds.

Some people, I'm sure, would have flipped out finding a snake in their bedroom, but a) I am not scared of snakes, especially ones smaller than the earthworms in my garden, and b) Cavan will react as I react, so I didn't want to instill fear in her. She is so curious about everything—I want to encourage that, not squash it, as some people would have done to the snake.

Finally, Cavan now has three butterflies as pets. She got a butterfly garden from a friend—a kit that includes baby caterpillars, caterpillar food, and a butterfly habitat. You watch the caterpillars grow, build their chrysalis, and then hatch as butterflies. Then you feed them for however long you want to keep them and then release them outside. The whole process takes about three weeks, and Cavan's caterpillars hatched a few days ago. We have been feeding them watermelon. The only problem with keeping butterflies is that our cat occasionally swats at them, causing the habitat to take a tumble. I have a feeling that the butterflies will earn their freedom very soon.

Funny mispronunciations

Cavan has a few funny mispronunciations.

Sculpture = sculp-scur
Weasel (as in Pop Goes the Weasel) = Pop Goes the Weeze-gulls
Knife = Ife
Easter (as in Easter bunny) = Beaster bunny
Acorn = Air-corn

Half the time I don't want to correct her because it is too cute.

Emma—One month update + pictures

Well, without our power being out for four days, I was unable to post in a timely manner. So without further delay, here is Emma's one-month update.

How did my baby get to be one month old so quickly? When Cavan was a newborn, the first several weeks crept by. I just prayed I’d get through the day, to the next day, in my majorly sleep-deprived state. Hubby was spending 15 hours a day trying to finish the construction on our new house and I was stuck in a 200-square-foot temporary apartment by myself. I was going batty.

But the craziness eventually ended and my newborn started sleeping, and after about a six weeks, I finally started to enjoy life again.

This first month with Emma, however, has been lovely. I dare say easy. Hubby has been on summer vacation, so he has gotten up every morning with Cavan so that I can get a few more minutes (or hours) of sleep, depending on Emma’s schedule. This month, Cavan has turned into a Daddy’s girl, but because Daddy has given her a ton of attention, she hasn’t felt left out in Emma’s presence. And she is the best helper and big sister I could have asked for. She loves being involved in Emma's care.

So here is an update on my growing girl.

**At her two-week checkup, she weighed eight pounds, gaining one full pound since leaving the hospital.  Her next appointment is next week.

**She sleeps two to three hours consecutively at night, but after getting her diaper changed and having a snack, she goes right back to sleep (and so do I!)

**When she pees, she cries out a single, “Waaaa!” Other than that—please don’t hate me—she rarely (and briefly) cries.

**Her newest monikers are: Froggy (or Froglet)—because her favorite position is sleeping like a tree frog on my chest; Little One—Cavan called her this one day and it stuck; and Glow Worm—because that’s what she looks like when she is all swaddled up, especially in her green swaddler.

**Emma was born with an “elf ear.” Her left ear came to a point when she was born, but now it has almost rounded out completely. I miss her little elf ear—it was so cute.

**She has so much hair. Cavan was born with a little strawberry blonde hair, but it mostly fell out and grew back in white-blonde. Emma has a whole mop of light brown hair—we can even style it into a baby-hawk! I think it will be curly as well—when I was her hair it waves and fluffs.

**Her umbilical stump fell off in only four days and her new belly button looks like a smiley face.

**She will sleep all day as long as she is held. And yes, I am spoiling this baby by carrying her around nearly every minute. I’m getting a lot of use out of the Baby Bjorn already.

All and all, she is the easiest baby I know. I thought Cavan was easy, but it looks like Emma is even more laid back. We are so blessed. I am in love. I would never go back to life without children.

Cavan: Random Stuff

**To follow up my post about Cavan-frowning-botox, Cavan was sitting on the couch the other day while I was feeding Emma. Emma was trying to rid herself of gas, and her face scrunched up in deep concentration. Cavan leans over and whispers to Emma, "Don't frown little one." Too cute.

**When "So you think you can dance" was on, Cavan started doing cooky dances in our living room. These have now graduated to daily occurrences, which include a variety of fast and slow moves, jumping moves, floor moves, yoga moves, and modern, interpretive arm motions. The videos we've taken are hilarious. She is so creative and uninhibited. Words cannot truly describe it (especially when she throws in a few hip thrusts!)

**About a year ago, my mom bought Hubby a classic John Deere shirt—bright yellow with the green deer logo. It quickly became Cavan's favorite shirt for Daddy. She asked him to wear it all the time. So, this summer, Grandpa came to visit and gave Cavan her very own deer shirt, which she wears whenever Daddy wears his. (She actually wore the shirt for three days in a row when she first got it.) After Emma was born, Grandma came to visit with two more deer shirts—one for Mommy and one for Emma, though Emma's is pink with the green deer.) Now, whenever I am putting away laundry, Cavan finds all the deer shirts so we can keep them together. Even though we live in New York, I guess we're just country folks at heart.

Punishment for frowning

After Emma was born, Cavan started throwing tantrums. She would get upset at the drop of a hat and then scowl at us. I told her not to frown, but that just caused her to wrinkle her forehead even more. And that's when I told her about botox.

"Cavan, if you keep frowning, you are going to need botox."
Continued scowl.
"Do you know what botox is?"
More frowning.
"Botox is when the doctor takes a big needle and gives you shots in your forehead. Do you want shots in your forehead."
She's thinking about it.

Then, Cavan stops frowning and remembers the baby that was crying in the doctor's office just days before.
"The baby at the doctor's office was getting botox?"
"Maybe. I don't think you want botox, so you better stop frowning."
"Okay."

She hasn't given us that pissed off scowl since then!