Historic happenings/belated 19th monthday
Well, our camera has been MIA for quite a while, and I do want to get some pictures of our new house up here soon, but I'll have to make do with a written report of the goings on here at Chez D and A. The paint is dry and the floors are done, the furniture is mostly moved in, even if the beds are still in pieces. Thanks moving man! (They neglected to leave the hardware so we've been sleeping on the floor for the last week and a half!)
But overall it's been wonderful to be in our new place. Domingo at first did not like this development at all, calling the new house a "sad house", saying he wanted to go back to the old house, and that he did not want to move. The other day I told him to go pick out a book to read before a nap and he said, "mom, I can't, there are no books in this house!" and after being in our old place where the problem was you couldn't pick out a book because they'd all come tumbling off the over-stuffed shelves, I realized we had to get some toys and books out here asap. So we've been talking a lot, playing a lot and getting used to the new place, and I think we are over the emotional hump for him. I think that because so much of his life is his "things" being separated from them made the transition that much harder. Once the toys and books came out he told me he loved his new playroom, which I have to agree is pretty awesome.
Amalia is another story altogether. This past month she turned 19 months and is having no trouble at all adjusting to her new surroundings. She loves the play room, loves the yard and the "sofa" which she demands to get on by herself! In fact that is a pretty common refrain around here these days. "By MYSELF!!" is said with such gusto regarding everything from tooth-brushing, to boot-donning, to sleeping.
Yes, tonight marks a serious historic milestone for our little family. For the first time since she was born Amalia is sleeping by herself in her pack and play. (That is a bit of an exaggeration since the first few weeks of her life she slept in the pack and play next to me, which is basically what we're doing now, but those first few weeks don't really count as sleep, now do they? I didn't think so!)
I was completely taken aback this evening as we were climbing into bed (on the floor) and Amalia looked at me and said, "no this one" and pointed to her pack and play. I asked if she wanted to sleep in there and she said yes. She sat up a few times, called for mama a few times, I held my hand up to the side and she put her hand against mine and then settled in and went to sleep by herself. I should be so happy and wonderfully relieved that she is taking steps on her own to move on from the family bed. Maybe I'm deluding myself and it's just that she was sick of sleeping on the floor and as soon as the bed is assembled she'll be clamoring to get back in it with me. But for now, it is a very bittersweet pill to swallow.
She is so so determined to be such a grown up kid like Domingo (who shows no sign of ever giving up the family bed by the way) and I have to fight every urge to hold on to the chubby little baby that she really isn't any longer. She is getting to be so big, so much like a child, and less like a baby as every day goes by. Though she still has her chubby cheeks and sweet tummy, she's taller, leaner and talks in phrases and is so bent on independence.
She is still just about the sweetest most generous and loving child I have ever met. If her brother gets in trouble, she cries along with him, even when he is in the soup for being mean to her. You cannot give her a thing without also giving her one for her brother, a cookie, an m&m, a goldfish, floss, anything! She gives him his share first and takes her own after he's got his. This astounds me to no end, because I was never really consciously aware of the hero-worship I must have felt for my older sister, only the advantages that I took of my little brother, so I'm much more familiar with what is going on in Domingo's little mind than in hers. I stand gaping every single time I give her a treat or a toy or a kiss and she demands one for "Mingo", every single time. I'm sure the end will come for this too, like cuddling with my sweet girl all night, her total selfless devotion to her brother is something that is probably just too good to last. But I will mostly definitely do all I can to remember both these little treasures of her babyhood, and relish the time I have had to enjoy them.
Love Mama.
But overall it's been wonderful to be in our new place. Domingo at first did not like this development at all, calling the new house a "sad house", saying he wanted to go back to the old house, and that he did not want to move. The other day I told him to go pick out a book to read before a nap and he said, "mom, I can't, there are no books in this house!" and after being in our old place where the problem was you couldn't pick out a book because they'd all come tumbling off the over-stuffed shelves, I realized we had to get some toys and books out here asap. So we've been talking a lot, playing a lot and getting used to the new place, and I think we are over the emotional hump for him. I think that because so much of his life is his "things" being separated from them made the transition that much harder. Once the toys and books came out he told me he loved his new playroom, which I have to agree is pretty awesome.
Amalia is another story altogether. This past month she turned 19 months and is having no trouble at all adjusting to her new surroundings. She loves the play room, loves the yard and the "sofa" which she demands to get on by herself! In fact that is a pretty common refrain around here these days. "By MYSELF!!" is said with such gusto regarding everything from tooth-brushing, to boot-donning, to sleeping.
Yes, tonight marks a serious historic milestone for our little family. For the first time since she was born Amalia is sleeping by herself in her pack and play. (That is a bit of an exaggeration since the first few weeks of her life she slept in the pack and play next to me, which is basically what we're doing now, but those first few weeks don't really count as sleep, now do they? I didn't think so!)
I was completely taken aback this evening as we were climbing into bed (on the floor) and Amalia looked at me and said, "no this one" and pointed to her pack and play. I asked if she wanted to sleep in there and she said yes. She sat up a few times, called for mama a few times, I held my hand up to the side and she put her hand against mine and then settled in and went to sleep by herself. I should be so happy and wonderfully relieved that she is taking steps on her own to move on from the family bed. Maybe I'm deluding myself and it's just that she was sick of sleeping on the floor and as soon as the bed is assembled she'll be clamoring to get back in it with me. But for now, it is a very bittersweet pill to swallow.
She is so so determined to be such a grown up kid like Domingo (who shows no sign of ever giving up the family bed by the way) and I have to fight every urge to hold on to the chubby little baby that she really isn't any longer. She is getting to be so big, so much like a child, and less like a baby as every day goes by. Though she still has her chubby cheeks and sweet tummy, she's taller, leaner and talks in phrases and is so bent on independence.
She is still just about the sweetest most generous and loving child I have ever met. If her brother gets in trouble, she cries along with him, even when he is in the soup for being mean to her. You cannot give her a thing without also giving her one for her brother, a cookie, an m&m, a goldfish, floss, anything! She gives him his share first and takes her own after he's got his. This astounds me to no end, because I was never really consciously aware of the hero-worship I must have felt for my older sister, only the advantages that I took of my little brother, so I'm much more familiar with what is going on in Domingo's little mind than in hers. I stand gaping every single time I give her a treat or a toy or a kiss and she demands one for "Mingo", every single time. I'm sure the end will come for this too, like cuddling with my sweet girl all night, her total selfless devotion to her brother is something that is probably just too good to last. But I will mostly definitely do all I can to remember both these little treasures of her babyhood, and relish the time I have had to enjoy them.
Love Mama.
posted by Alice at
9:09 PM
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