And so it is...

I am one of those who can make long To Do list and ponders the universe.  My head feels so full right now, I think that tends to happen with the holiday season in full swing.  So let me have a 'blurt it out' session so I can lighten my load some.  I know I am not the only processing these thoughts, so please chime in the comments section with a "Me too, I think about...."

1. Need to refer to my December To Do list and create a schedule for the remainder of the items which are all 'due' on 12/23.

2. Brainstorming pregnancy care and birth options for the next one (whenever that may be).  I know pre-natals make a significant impact, need to start again, just for prep.

3. I want to eat healthier, I am thinking of going veg (well, allowing for fish)  2 days/week and/or raw/whole eating 2-3 days/week.  It refers to eating nothing processed (basically if it comes in its own packaging, it's processed.  The exception will be Greek yogurt.)

4. I need to embarrass myself into fitness, create an exercise tally sheet to post on the wall to serve as motivation.

5. I want orderliness in my household as with my weekly grocery/menu plan, it's really a bi-weekly thing.  LOVE IT.  Now if I could get on that track with laundry.  Bummer that it has to occur AT LEAST once per week.

6. I want a place of our own in less than a year but having difficulty weighing that against pre-school options for Vida.  Hmmmmm....

Ahhhhh, that makes me feel much better.

Vida is about a week away from turning 20 months!  Her language development continues to impress me.  I know, every mother has a super baby.  Well here's some proof:

She can say some 3 word sentences, here are some examples:

1. I see you!  If you're playing hide and seek and she spots you.
2. We're home!  As we drive into our alley and pull up to our place.
3. There it is!  When she has located something we asked for.

She has memorized two songs and sings them on her own.

1. The Wheels on the Bus... (My mom just loves this one.)
This one is not as easily understood until you hear her say, 'round and round'.  She sings it spontaneously not on command.
2 Happy Birthday! (Every gathering with multiple people and candles in sight is 'Happy Birthday' time.)
Take Thanksgiving for example: At the table were centerpieces with orange tapers.  She was so excited and began to sing "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Vida.  Blow! Blow!"
Vida has a cousin that's 6 weeks older than her and his mom said he only knew 3 words and simply grunts to have his needs met.
3. She's working on some Mother Goose Nursery rhymes, I think she has them but doesn't sing them all the way through on her own.  Favorites include: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (95% memorized), Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Pat a Cake (85% memorized).

 She asks to have books read to her one after the other. 
I notice this most during the bed time routine: we put the pajamas on, bring the bottle, she inhales it, and says, 'book'.  We read one, two, and sometimes three or four books.  I am trying to decipher if she has already started to use it as a stall for bedtime or simply enjoys reading for pleasure. There are days where she'll get in a book worm mood in the middle of the day and want to read. 
There's one book, she can 'read' on her own:

That's Not My Dolly (Touchy-feely)

Fiona Watt

On each page there's a different doll with a feature that is not 'right'.  Example: 'That's not my dolly!  Her shoes are too bumpy!'  The shoes are textured for touch.  As Vida flips through it, you can hear the intonation that I use as I read to her.  I may have mentioned this before because she caught me by surprise about two months ago when I overheard her.  I am fascinated though because it reminds of when I ask kids to read aloud with an animated voice and to use the punctuation marks.  Some kids still sound monotone or their attempts are strained.  Reading with intonation can only be learned through modeling.

She engages in storytelling:
There are 3 incidents she re-lives when something trigger her memory, usually an object or keyword.

1. The parakeet incident: While Pablo let the birds spread their wings, they scrambled to the top of the back door when Vida approached.  One of them flew away back to the cage as Vida began to move the door.  The more docile, tame one, stayed and had a toe smashed in the door frame.  With a horrible shriek, Vida let go and ran to the other side of the kitchen, she was traumatized.  Her face flush and on the verge of tears from the horrible squaking.  Pablo was washing the dishes (awesome Husband, I know) and I came in to check out the commotion.  The bird is now inside its cage and bleeding.  I attend to Vida and reassure her, Pablo attends to the bird, quickly Googling first aid.  Pablo was leaving the next morning for a surprise visit home for his mom's birthday.  I took the bird in for a check up (I didn't think it was necessary but these $4 parakeets are his friends).  $100 later (an antibiotic and vitamin shot), granted both parakeets had their nails trimmed, he's fine.  Every now and then, Vida will comment:

Bird, Door, Sorry

Sorry...was picked up at daycare.  If she walks by an object and bumps into it, she tells the it, 'sorry'.  Once when I picked her up from daycare, she said, 'Seesaw.  Sorry.'  She motioned to her head.  I am guessing some kid abruptly got off and she fell off.

2. Then there was the Turban squash incident.  We selected a turban squash from the pumpkin patch.  It was Pablo's idea, it could serve as Vida's own pumpkin, it's a cute size, and it looks like a toadstool.  Below is an example:

TurbanSquash

One morning I was washing out her bottles and she wanted to tell the parakeets good morning.  We have a routine where we tell them 'good morning' and pull of the towel that covers them.  Well the turban squash was sitting on top of the cage and came down with just a couple of gentle tugs.  A 'foot' of the squash landed square on the front right corner of Via's head and knocked her to her butt.  It was definitely a slow motion reaction on my part as it unfolded.  She summarizes the incident as Pumpkin!  Burdies!  Sorry!  As she pats the part of her forehead that was hit.  :-(

I don't want to end on a sad note like that.  She has incredible resiliency and spunk.  It's hilarious to watch her find tons of amusement in the most basic experiences, like going up and down the back steps or her Little Tikes slide in our living room.  The role playing is expanding.  She places her stuff animals on chairs and spins them 'round and 'round.  She reads with them in her house. 

This weekend a new element of entertainment was introduced...Play dough!  I have small jars (the party favor ones) in 4 different colors.  She loves them all.  Daddy has a good time too.  He makes her cake, strawberries, and bananas.  She likes using tools with it, like a small roller, protractor, and the cases themselves.  Beginning in January, she will start attending Music Together classes.  I am saving the details of our first demo class for another post.  The program is simply amazing!  We're taking small steps to prep her for preschool, she could start as early as 4 months from now!  Most likely, we're still 10 months away but it's good to present her with similar experiences. 

It seems as though the surge of hormones acquired during my pregnancy with Vida still linger.  Whenever I read a tragic news story about a young life lost, a sinking feeling comes over me.  I actually feel my chest sink a little bit as I go limp reading some of the details of these abductions that almost always result in killings. 

I can recall the first time that I watched some footage on the news while on maternity leave and simply clutching Vida as close as I possibly could without actually squishing her.  I needed to run an errand at Target and began to take into consideration measures that are needed to protect her from 'baby snatchers'.  The story I watched on the news didn't even play out like that. However, the thoughts of what a 'baby snatcher' could do sent me into hyper-protective mode.

As an educator, you have many opportunities to create nurturing mommy moments.  I recently subbed in a first grade classroom and was taken aback by the hugs I was welcomed with after lunch recess.  This morning, I arrived early for an assignment to assist a librarian.  There was a 1st grader waiting for the library to open up along with me.  She had a Fancy Nancy book in Spanish!  I asked her about it and asked if I could read it with her.  Mid-way through the book, a fourth grader arrived and began to follow along.  I just couldn't help myself.  For one thing, I felt awkward just hanging out in the hallway and out of a little boredom was born a teachable moment.

Imagine...
A preschool with a passionate director, an authentic Reggio approach, and a beautiful environment.  Yes, it's out of reach: with only a 1/2 day schedule and a 5-digit price tag plus an additional $2K for the art materials and registration fee.  The experience is worthwhile, this site is a testament to how the childrens' natural talents are nourished.  I knew the preschool search would be tough but didn't expect heartache to go with it.  What I have learned though is to use the same approach when selecting a day care site.  I didn't give myself enough time on that one.  I am happy with Vida's daycare but it doesn't have a bilingual component.  It's possible to have it all, it just takes a significant amount of planning.

We just wrapped up our second preschool tour and were super satisfied until we reflected on the price tag, it's more than our rent.  It will be a back up, pending my future employment.  When you compare it to the preschool above, it's a 'bargain'.  A huge bonus at this location is that the child can start on their second birthday, rolling admissions, and they don't have to be potty-trained.  So far this has been a rare perk: usually potty training is required and they can't start until they are 2.5.

I have 4 more preschool tours between November and January.  1/2 of them are not realistic due to their hours but I want to get a feel for what's offered in the area so that I can make an informed decision.

This is when you truly feel the middle class squeeze and your options are limited.  We want it all: a satisfying career, home ownership and a great education for our child(ren).  In CA, that combination is reserved for a few.

Oh, how I miss the days where I could scribble out a 5-year plan and everything worked out perfectly, falling into place at the right time.  Now, it's about the 10-year plan and holding our breath that it works out.  I guess, we can hold off on buying our first place until it's time for kindergarten or college.  I am an advocate of public education whether traditional or charter.  However, I feel strongly about a private high school education.  That view could change with some significant reform.

I read the The Complete TightWad Gazette to learn more tips about saving money.  To truly fit the bill there are some caveats: you need to have strong home ec skills, live in a rural area, and have one parent stay home.  Yes, there were multiple examples of families owning homes with only one income, granted their purchases were less than $50K.

Which brings me to my next topic...

How do I reduce my carbon footprint, live a frugal life, and increase family quality time factor?
(I would love to hear your answers to this question too.)

This BIG question evolved as I discovered the No Impact Man, the book mentioned above, personal finance blogs, a rigorous work environment, and the Story of Stuff.

So in my tiny universe I have taken these steps and noticed that some have the added benefit of a healthy lifestyle too:

1. Commitment to only 1 TV in our household and no cable.  We have always had 1 TV and the DirectTV was canceled months ago and replaced with a more affordable Netflix subscription (only 1 DVD at a time).  It still feels like we watch too much TV, between morning cartoons and our shows/interests, we're probably at 10 hours/week.  I would rather spend that time reading or doing something productive like household duties.  As Vida's school years begin, I would like to create the routine of no TV after dinner as it will be reserved for homework time and it only gets turned on after she's asleep.  We have ridiculously great weather, it was 90 degrees today, we should be outside more often. 

2. Making treats instead of buying them.  Like if I want to serve dessert for the family it will be something made from scratch.  Or if I want snack foods for work, it will be a home-made item.  So far this has been in effect 50%...

3. Buying in bulk and sharing the difference with family.  We're just two adults and a toddler, so I review a list of needs with my mom and we split the cost on some Costco purchases.

4. Using a Brita filter instead of buying bottled water, this one is tough because bottle water is such an evil, er, great convenience.  We're getting better at this one, I think a larger Brita contraption would help.

5. Menu planning: it makes so much sense and has significant pay off in terms of finances and stress.  No last minute decisions and panic fast food runs.  It's not intuitive or second nature yet but it has improved in the last 3 months.  Taking time off from working full time made a difference.  It also helps with grocery shopping and cuts down on throwing away unused food.

6. No full price purchases or dining: Basically take advantage of discounts, coupons, and perks if you want to treat yourself or indulge.  There have been multiple times that I found myself remembering that 'we had a coupon for that.  Dang it!'

7. Do significant research on any purchase over $50: First ask yourself is it REALLY necessary, then if it is, hunt for the best value.  Take Vida's bedroom furniture for example: the crib can be modified to a toddler bed and the dresser and night stand can plain-face or have colorful panels, it's also well made and will last.  I remember having my furniture for nearly a decade.  I can't say the same for our main couch, I think it's cush factor has a maximum of 5 years left.

Living this lifestyle is not difficult it just takes commitment, like my Jillian's 30-Day Shred work out.  :-) Bottom line: you can't procrastinate if you want to be successful with this lifestyle.  

I have no idea why but when Vida is adamant about not eating something or not doing something she will let you know with a definitive...

NO WAY!!!

It's not an expression we use so it must have been picked up at daycare.

Recently, she was overcome with frustration while Nani was watching her...

My mom told me that she was messing with the on/off switch on the TV and she told her not to do that.  Vida clenched her fist with fury and shouted NO WAY...AND slapped my mom two times!

She was taken aback and so was Vida.  She said Vida had a look of 'oh no, now I have done it.'  My mom couldn't come up with a response to discipline her.  It's very much out of character for Vida.

Just this evening we were in the food court at the local mall and took her to the play area for the 1st time.  She held her own very well with tranquility and patience.  There was a set of brothers about 5 and 2.5 who were acting like punks!  The 5 year old, Mikey, in particular was the Tazmanian Devil!  He went up to Vida and called her a 'baby' in a mocking tone over and over again.  She just looked at him and his brother with a look that said, 'Okay, and what of it?!?!?

Their father eventually came over because, the boys were not getting a reaction from Vida, so they began some physical contact.  This is when I was about to pounce on the punks, their father came in and said some weak, 'no, no' junk.  It didn't stop, at one point, Mikey was about to poke Vida in the eye.  These boys terrorized some other girls too.

I guess Vida was too young to think anything of their horrendous behavior.  She had fun doing laps around the gi-normous hot dog.  She enjoyed herself despite these two instigators.

Vida celebrated her 18 month birthday on Monday.  I had class that evening so DH got her a cupcake and sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  She loved it.  I got in on the fun the following day with a Hostess cupcake.  She loved the song and asked to do it again.  Vida participate more in the ritual than she did on her 1st birthday, when it all took her by surprise.

Some of her latest milestones and learning curves...

1. Counting: She can count from 1 through 9 when it's combined with an activity such as doing pull ups on Daddy's "As Seen on TV" pull up bar or climbing stairs.  We definitely have to capture this on video soon to prove it.  She impressed Nani today as she watched her on the pull up bar.

2. Self-feeding: Still in development but she's very eager to do it herself when it's a solid food.  With liquids or cereal, I set it up for her and she takes it from there.  There's a 'control freak' side of me that wants to do it for her in the name of efficiency.  In my child development class, I am learning about independence and interdependence.  If she wants to do it herself, I let her, otherwise I jump in and get it done.  For solids, I still keep food to finger-food size.  So if we're having chicken, I shred her portion.  If we're having cheese n' mac with that, she will use a fork.

3. Pre-potty training: Vida is getting better at undressing herself.  She's most proficient with her socks and shirt.  There's not much interest in pulling her bottoms down.  She recognizes and makes the names and sounds for potty time.  She will sit at her potty casually.  I let her come to the bathroom with me.  We're working on explaining the concept that 'pee' and 'poo' go 'bye -bye' in the potty.

4. Vocabulary: It's expanding weekly.  She's aware of when she hears a new word and repeats it again and again.  She participated in a study at the UCLA baby lab (it was her 4th visit) and I filled out a vocabulary inventory.  Vida knows so many more words than she can say.  It's amazing how much that little brain absorbs.  I recently checked out the The Read-Aloud Book from the library.  (Side note:  I don't even hunt for the books I am interested in on the shelves.  I simply go online and reserve it.  I am sent an email when it arrives at my local branch and I go pick it up.  Easy breezy!) So, I can't believe that I didn't already own this book.  It should be required reading in all teacher preparation programs.  The authors weaves research along with his professional and personal experience, sprinkled with some anecdotes to create the case for reading aloud to children throughout their entire life.  Yes, 0 to 18!  Sometimes it feels like a chore, when Vida picks up her 6th book to read aloud.  There's a mommy confession for you.  Now that I have the 3 chapters of this book and reflected on my teaching days in a high-needs urban area, I happily read the 6th, 7th, and 8th book of the day. 

The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition

Jim Trelease

Yes, all in one afternoon.

Yesterday, Vida, my mom and I attended a birthday party for a cousin turning 1.  There were mini cupcake centerpieces with super bright icing.  Vida had 2 with bright blue frosting.  Her poop had a light blue tint to it today.  I remember reading about the phenomenon that your child's waste can change color due to food coloring so I was prepared.  Otherwise, I would have been Googling, 'blue baby poop'.

We also had lunch at the Corner Bakery, a new one that opened up at a small shopping center.  The cutest family with 2 boys (5 and 2.5) were sitting next to us.  We were near the entrance, where there's a small couch area for people waiting for to go orders.  Vida was restless toward the end of the meal and decided to play in that area.  The boys wanted to join in.  When the 5 y/o entered the area, she approached him, babbled some gibberish, and acted sweetly toward him.  He was speechless and lost as to what to do, he ran back to his dad with his face blushing and buried himself into his dad.  His name is Bowie, as in David Bowie, super cute hipster kid.  His lil bro enters into 'Vida's play area', they hit off, chatting it up, doing some dance moves, climbing.  I think Bowie will pick up some girl tips from his lil bro, Phoenix.  Yes, those are their real names.  I know, only in L.A.  The parents were a beautiful down-to-earth couple.

It was so fun to watch Vida be so bold, she's comfortable approaching kids that seem to be having fun.  It seems to happen more often with boys who are about 3-5.  Perhaps, it's the girl-boy ratio at daycare that gives her the confidence.  It's a fine line to watch for sure, and it all may just disappear once she hits the 'tweens.  I watch with fascination as she tries to engage them in some conversation, she's relentless too.  If they don't answer her back, she will continue talking!  My DH will say something like, "that sounds familiar" when he reads this entry.  He is very good at decoding her words or so it seems...

I truly believe she is communicating with real words, just the pronunciation is off.  When she actually speaks in a sentence it's a mash up of all the words together.  I have to record some examples of her making an exclamation and my husband giving the translation.  One of the first phrases/sentences, he decoded was, 'Let me see."  It sounds like, 'lemme seeeeee."  She uses it when one of us is holding an object that she is interested in.  I am hesitant to agree with all the translation that DH comes up with but she speaks with a tone and command that I can't just chalk it up to baby talk.

Has anyone else seen this article on CNN.  It makes perfect sense: 'Spanking children predicts aggressive behavior problems at age 2'.  I was spanked as a kid and still remember it, I would hide my detention slips to avoid it.  I would beg my mom to not make me tell my dad.  It wasn't painful, it was simply humiliating!

Instead, my mother has introduced, 'pow pow', it's a phrase we started to use when she entered the phase of throwing food off the high chair.  My mom will put out her own wrist and mockingly tap it while saying 'pow pow'.  Vida is a natural mimic and would drop the food and then repeat the action.  It was a game...

I decided to say the words, 'pow pow', with a scowl and a stern tone.  I also tap her wrist briskly and she stops dropping food, throwing objects off shelves, and putting her mouth on the trashcan liner.  I know-gross!

I don't want to strike fear into her and manage misbehavior in that fashion.  As much as possible, I will return to the 'No, not for Vida' and remove her from the situation to distract her.  When I am thinking and processing the situation instead of simply reacting, the outcome and better for both of us, no frustration, no stress.

What has worked is chill out time, it's like 'time out but' more about taking time for herself.  One day, after daycare, she was antsy, playing destructively and unable to focus.  When she began to whine, I lifted her from the living room to the crib, all she needed was 5 minutes.  I expected her to commence with a protest of shrieking.  Instead, a subdued voice emerged, baby babble, and gentle play began.

When I cannot remove her (example: dining out), I whisper in her ear: 'Not right now Vida, you need to sit down, thank you.'  It buys me some time and she understands the concept.  Babies are so perceptive to body language and tone.  I am taking a child development class for my own sake and slowly building up to a director permit.  For one of my projects, we have to present a concept for a parent workshop.  I found inspiration at this site.  Enjoy!

Living the Big City life...

Fire and Brimstone
For starters there's the weather...apparently our L.A. fires are so significant it has made international news.  It has been nothing short of devastating, particularly with the death of 2 firefighters, both family men.  One was expecting his 1st child in 3 weeks.  I am thinking of looking up their registry online and sending a small gift.  In solidarity.

Toddlerhood in Hollywood
Vida had her first official gymnastics class today.  We sampled the program with a trial class 2 weeks ago and she was all over it.  Ms. Savannah, the gymnastics teacher, is a natural with the 'foxes and pups'.  That's the name used for the littlest kiddos.  Guess who is in her class?  Sunny, Adam Sandler's 10 month old daughter.  I made a huge boo boo and called her a boy.  Nice one.  Adam was there too.  See this is special for me...when Pablo and I were dating he asked who my Hollywood heartthrob was...my answer: Adam Sandler!  That's not what he expected, he was thinking Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, the usual.  I was like, 'Hello!"  Adam would keep me laughing.  Laughter = Happiness!
Vida is not is some super-posh studio, she's at JAG (Josephson Academy of Gymnastics) in Culver City.  I signed up for classes via our local community college, West L.A. College.  We get the same exact classes but at a discounted price and bypass the customary registration fee.  It's going well, it's great to see her learn how to use her muscles and develop some coordination.  Something both DH and I lack (he's fallen out of a tree and I am a klutz).

Playdates
So maybe Vida will be invited to Sunny's 1st birthday.  :-)
Right now, I am at a coffee shop catching up on things while Vida has a playdate with Lily.  I used to babysit Lily.  She seemed all good so I just tip toed outta there while she continued to explore their back yard.  I have only checked my phone 3 times in 30 minutes!  When I went to pick up Vida, she was a 'velcro monkey' attached to Lily.  It also made me cry that she didn't want to come home with me!  She had a great time.  It is noted that the combination of an intensive 45-minute morning gymnastics session combined with a 1-hour fun playdate makes for a GREAT 3.5 hour nap!

How fun is it to sing the 'ABC's' song?

It's my first round and I am loving it.  Vida sings along during certain portions.  She has a strong concept of letter and sound relationships.  She has even transferred it to graffiti, let me explain:
While at the park on Sunday, she was playing on the equipment and crawled through a tunnel that had some tagging, silly stuff like, 'cows eat poop' along with actual tagging.  She pointed to the letter 'C' and said it.

The night before we 'tagged' up the bathroom tile with Crayola's tub crayons and sang about the ABC's during bath time.  *Remember*: I am an educator and learning opportunities abound.  Below is a video of the final round, she's not participating as much.  Her voice comes through as a high pitch, my apologies in advance: