Tutus and Toys

Naisa and Yonah are both growing more, and becoming more independent of me and Ben. They play together nicely some, and I break up a lot of fights.

Before Christmas, a little to much Katarina and Daniel Tiger has made its way into her brain and she desired to be a ballerina. She located a pair of tights (which we soon found were too small, because not amount of "hiking up" would amount them to stay over her bottom) and her pink "dress" (very much a shirt length now) and wore them incessantly.

Then, Naisa got a tutu for Christmas that she has not taken off... hardly. It is in the rotation of the three or four outfits that she changes to wear each day (a completely different story). Now the tutu is typically the bottom layer, followed by the pink, then, since it's winter, a purple shirt that has a mouse's face on it. (called the kitty mouse sweater, if you must know)

And she also wears a pair of pink tights that the elastic has been broken on for several weeks. . probably after the first week started wearing them, they no longer held themselves up. So we constantly see her tights on her knees, looking like the "stylish" or "cool" guys who attended my high school. On top of these, she wears a pair of ballet slippers that came with the tutu and sometimes her pink boots, which were also a Christmas present.

Naisa is very attached to these pink tights. She has an identical pair of tights in grey that she has not touched, and a pair of nylon tights that are pink and a pair that are white and these she also shuns.

Yonah has discovered the special-ness of the tutu, as Naisa calls it her "costume' and parades around the apartment, sometimes "dancing", but mostly playing, always the emphasis on the tutu. Yonah began to desire the tutu. Naisa has several bright and fluffy shirts to choose from and soon enough, we discovered Yonah putting on the tutu skirts, pulling them on over his pants as high as he could make them go: until the bottom of his diaper. He also learned the word and will say it anytime he is prompted, "tdutdu."

Naturally, one of us felt his little boy mind would be forever swerved toward tutus, and the the other thought a costume was a great idea, although it didn't have to be tutus. So when my sister was in town and we were at the thrift store, we found a barney and big bird costume (if you would call it that.... I call it his big bird hospital gown), and presented those to them. Yonah has lost interest in the tutus at large. He and Naisa are very creative with the toys.. and the not-toys that they play with. Yonah particularly likes the steamer, and the pots and plastic containers. Some have gone missing into the toy basket.

And Yonah and his stools! I cannot have my back turned, because he pulls his stool up the the silverware drawer, picks out a few to stick in his mouth, and puts a few dirty ones in the drawer. And so demanding is he to do the dishes! Every time I turn on the faucet, he runs over to me, hands above his head, ready to get them wet, screaming, "Dishes", which, to him, means, "run water on his hands for at least five minutes, and play with cups on water, typically pouring water out of the sink, onto his clothes.

The obsession with mail in our apartment is out of control. Naisa receives a card or letter in the mail at least once a week, and Yonah has noticed and has begun to demand his own main every time we pick it up at the mailbox. Naisa is specifically sour when we won't give her something in an envelope after we've made a trip to the mailbox. But then, Naisa, when she Does receive something in the mail, she refuses to open it, instead to cherish looking at it. Probably fascinated with the smoothness of the envelope, and she brings it to the stash of mail that she has, placed in a special box (this special location changes every couple of days of so), and has asked me to tie a string around it and calls it her present.

Nana has reappeared (I found it behind a pile of unfolded (i.e. shoved) towels in the bathroom closet, and presented it to her, and it has taken on a different role, now that it has been several months since she last 'needed' it. Now it is a toy, and still a comfort at night, but no longer needed at nap time, and is sometimes forgotten. It also no longer exits the house, and remains quite clean, as she no longer r requires it to attend dinner with her. Yonah's blanket "blanket", on the other hand, could do with washing, as could Naisa's tutu (although I managed to sneak her tights in the the wash last week, knowing that we could use the dryer of our neighbor to speed the drying, because it was too cold out side.

Yonah's vocabulary has been expanding, slow and steady. New words that I have been hearing: brush, nina (he learned the name of Naisa's blanket. ha!) memaw, josh (that's ben's cousin), milk, eat (I hear this, sometimes at 4:30 in the morning). Berries, banana, bread, milk, apple. and outside , and all done, and down and lots and lots of nonsense language that tends to be much more descriptive about his present situation. This shows that you don't need to know a language to get your basic needs met. ha!

Lately, Yonah and Naisa love to play with the blankets we have in the living room: the big afghans and quilts. They lie wrapped in them,  resting on the couch and on the floor, and I often hear contagious giggles when one throws the blanket on the other.

ah, I know everything is a phase, and these things, once bright and memorable in my mind, will pass away from my distinct memory.

Today, You're Two!

Dear Naisa,

My sweet treasure, my princess

a little booger 

At this time two years ago I was at the birth center, pissed I had to sit still for my blood pressure, annoyed the birth tub was taking too long to be filled.

 The waves kept coming, intentional, rhythmic, louder, then softer
I moaned, screamed, pushed

And then you slipped out, with troll hair
Big eyes, mouth wide with the first cries
Letting me know you're alive

IT'S A GIRL!
A surprise we "knew" when we couldn't think of a boy name

Naisa

He lifts up, and carries away

God forgives

You were my reminder of redemption, a God who took me back, though the mess I am

What a journey the beginning was.
Learning what was wrong,
not fixing it,
and figuring another way
Your stubborn mama could put the milky treasure into your sweet body

Determined, I was.

Even when you slept through the night, I didn't sitting with my "oxygen tank", hunched over reading real food blogs and birth stories on the internet for half an hour in the dark hallway, the lit bathroom, and eventually the living room of our third apartment in a year of marriage.

Your drooly smiles took away my fears of being inadequate to myself
I loved the way you took it all in with your anime eyes
Pondering, carrying, loving.

Then you started walking
Messes began
We learned how to eat..and how to drop food on the floor.

mommy and daddy blew out one candle for you
And you ate your coconut flour cupcake

teddy, belly button, baby, all pronounced "daddy"

playing with Lily. in and out of cabinets
and the diaper bag
in the racecar cart at food lion
giggling down the aisles
and playing in the pool

playing with McKenny
and his push car

watching Mommy's belly grow and trying to make yours bigger in your reflection on the oven.

requesting to do "dups" in the sink, pulling the chair over

eating yummy pizza made by mommy.
loving roast chicken and salmon.
becoming addicted to smoothies every day for breakfast.

learning what a mess was,
never letting Mommy forget.

bus, truck, car, flower, food "ion",

developing an identity and a temper
Positively benefiting from quiet time in your crib

Loving the time with TeeTee. Playing, Food Lion, running down the hall. Going on walks to EMU and up the Summit Ave hill!
(after Yonah was born, we went for a walk to water plants and we needed to go to Summit Ave (aka a very steep annoying hill). Marie (TeeTee) pushed the stroller and I carried Yonah. We made it to the road that was a block lower than Summit, but still had to climb the hill. But instead of walking on the road, we chose the shorter, steeper route (the kind where you will reach another cardio threshold afteward), and I hike up, arriving first because my load was lighter. We passed a house as we reached the road and there was a woman outside working. We had made eye contact so I told her, "We wanted to go the hard way! My sister is coming with the stroller!"
Confused, she replied, "How did you lose the stroller?"
I had forgotten to mention there was a little person in the stroller. 
She had assumed we'd lost control of the stroller and it had careened down the steep hill.
Marie and I laughed hysterically about that afterward. )

Meeting "baby Onah" in the morning after Mommy and Daddy's "date night"

Dropping a cup on his head.

Watching Mommy "baby, mouth, breast, nana"
and also pump.
"Yonah bottle?"

Mommy being able to say, "Yonah doesn't need a bottle anymore."

Waiting until Mommy put Yonah down for a nap to ask to be "up".

patiently watching your "nap" get packed up and set up again and again
transitioning here

and two.

we love you Naisa Fern 

Riding in the car with mommy

Napping on Mommy

Not everything is happy slappy

Lovely with Daddy

baby bathtime

Holding baby brother

New glasses at Yonah's baby shower!

Trying out Mommy's version of feeding the baby

Naisa's "selfie"

Lots of attitude (and laundry!)

walking on her first birthday

playing with Daddy on vacation

playing with Lily outside

Joyous 8-9months old

1st birthday

a glimpse after a nap

a not so exciting day in the life of Grace

It is now 2:35 pm and Naisa is fussing herself awake from her nap. yay
not.

Yonah, fell asleep so beautifully ten minutes ago snuggle-nursing is occasionally murmuring, but mayhave fallen asleep.

But not if this screaming continues...

but if I get her she'll still be fussy.
Or not. Those are the options.

I guess I'll take the chance. I NEED a sleeping baby!

the routine that follows is to throw everything out of the bed. And if she doesn't do it (and name each thing), I have to.

Now she's bringing everything into the living room.

and fussing.
And it's only for that nasty loved blanket, nana.


My dad is arriving in a little over an hour. I hope we all survive.

TIME TO EAT, NAISA!

So far, in Fredricksburg

We have dove in.

It took six long irritating hours to drive from Souderton to Fredrickburg, a trip that boasts four hours, if that, but plagued us with being stuck in five plus miles of stop-go traffic that followed an accident.

Our apartment is very close to everything...just a short highwayish drive away, which makes walking there harder. We are thankful that it is a reasonable distance from Ben's work.

Moving in took no time. Unpacking took a couple days (with small children, something that could take an hour would instead be a day's job, especially with no naps.)

Naisa seems to be transitioning well. It took a couple days of on and off crying for her to adjust. She has her Na-Na and her kitty and her teddy and her babies and her "odr" toys. So she's ok. But it took a lot of patience and yesterday we had a failed outing because she was too upset because I wouldn't let her climb the stairs of a Methodist church on the way to a place to throw the ball.

We successfully found a place to purchase a herd share just north west of Fredricksburg a little bit. We visited their farm on Labor day and it was a great, relaxed, fun visit. It's a (wonderful) mom, her husband, and three rambunctious boys, one of whom is Naisa's age and she, of course, had a blast. When Yonah needed to nurse while we were there, the husband said to me to "pick a couch" inside. It's wonderful to be around people who are so welcoming to nursing a baby. :)

Today was Ben's second day at Lifeway and he's getting the hang of it. I can tell he is energized by the challenge and the place, I think we are both energized by the transition. It feels like a honeymoon--that kind of excitement--the something-new joy... even though we have two little ones, one of which is a handful (now which one is that??). I think I like it because Ben has to get to bed at a a good time to get up in the morning, so we are more intentional with hanging out (whereas when we were at his parent's house on our "vacation" he would be researching Bible passages, and Greek words from Hebrews 12:17 and go to bed in the wee hours of the morning.)

We found a church we'll be attending while we are here, and are hoping to connect to a Life Group while we are here. It's called Calvary Chapel Fredricksburg. They preach line by line out of the Bible and have the nursery and nursing room right by the sanctuary (with a TV and speaker of the sermon!). We love it. And it's five minutes down the road (but everything is five minutes down the road.)

I have been able to start exercising with T-tapp while we were on our "vacation" and have continued to do it since we've been here. I'm looking forward to trying the longer workout. . . when the nap times allow. It has been helping my back pain that has ensued from nursing and and carrying around a 30lb two year old while having a baby in the carrier.

Almost all my attempts to organize have been cadoodled by my Naisa, who dumps over my recipe cards (organized by types of dish) and then gets upset about the mess, and throws all the books on the floor and rips pages (of already destroyed books) apart. Then she destroys more books, and INSISTS on having her ENTIRE basket full of toys in her Pack-n-Play for naptime (and then unloads them out of it before going to sleep. (It's another fun game for a toddler to play!) I have had success putting clothes into drawers (although I think she relocated some of Ben's socks), and managing the kitchen.

I will be chronically behind on dishes for the entire time we are here. There isn't a dishwasher.
Naisa has been eating much better while we were at Ben's parents house and now. The teething irritation must ahve subsided for awhile. Sometimes in the morning it takes her a little bit to get hungry.... and then she gets HANGRY, and I trip to pump as much nutrition into her smoothis as possible (think coconut oil and gelatin along with the milk and banana and strawberries.)

I try to prep dinner while the babies are sleeping so that I can just heat it up in the pot or in the oven once it's time to start. So far (as in, one night) this has worked. And we are getting plenty of practice nursing in the carrier out of pure necessity.)

So far, interactions with our landlady (who we see often because the business is below us and they bring their horse in and out) have been good, although she is very professional and you can tell she doesn't have children. We got internet today, which is a blessing, not having to count MB.
 
When the internet guy came, we had a discussion about Christianity in the American church, and I encouraged him to attend church, because he said he hadn't been in awhile, but because he had a kid (or more, don't know) that he wanted to start going again. I talked to him about the church we had gone to, and also recommended a couple pastors to listen to online (Skip Heitzig and Frances Chan).

So, without further ado, some pictures from a five minute window of my day.

When I wouldn't let her have the camera.

Yonah, ten weeks. Chubby as can be.

As much of a smile as I could catch with my camera's issues.

Because EVERYTHING

The couch in the living room. There is also an entertainnment center across from the couch

Naisa by the front door. Fussing because Yonah couldn't come into the kitchen for one second.

Kitchen. You can't see all the dishes I have to wash. But you can see the table.

Naisa "Cimbed" the chair all by herself.

L to R Ben and I's bedroom, Naisa's bedroom, bathroom

Our set up in the bedroom.

Bathroom. not much to see here.

Naisa's space. The toys are positioned "out" of the bed at the moment.

Look how big!