Oops, I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last posting. Time flies when you're screamingly busy for 15 hours straight every day. I have to say, it's pretty hard to have both of us working full time and still do a decent job of raising this active girl. C'est la vie, I guess.
Netsanet is growing quickly and mentally developing so fast! She speaks in many sentences now, and the babble is less and the recognizable words are more. She has several new words every day; it's just mind-boggling how fast her brain is developing. She knows some letters and numbers and will point them out when she has a sign or something within reach. It shocks me! She's not even 2 years old! We certainly haven't made a point of teaching her letters or numbers; I think she's just picking it up from daycare and our interactions (if she points to letters I'll tell her what they are, but we haven't been doing flashcards or anything...). It's amazing how smart she is, but Ken and I joke that it will probably mean trouble later on - she'll be able to figure out how to get around us pretty quickly!
She's definitely into the toddler stage, with what other parents tell me are typical issues. Her appetite has gone way down and she's pretty picky about what she'll eat (mostly fruit, and some cheese). She's still growing, even if she's lost most of her cute little belly. As long as she's basically healthy, I'll *try* not to stress. She's doing some screeching, but the volume and frequency has gone down a bit with our constant feedback of 'no screaming.' There's been some attempts at biting and hitting, which is not fun, but I guess it just takes consistent 'no' and firm statements. She'll try something for a while, but if we're consistent the bad behaviour seems to go away pretty quickly. She's also had some nightmares lately, which I think probably comes with all the new mental development at this age. It's not all the time, which is a relief, but there have been a few sleepless nights! She's definitely a character, and her personality makes itself more evident every day. She has quite the sense of humor, and will make faces and do things to make us laugh, and she wants us to reciprocate in her little game. I think she's going to be quite the comedian!
Summer weather has been great so far. We have had more sunny days since April than I can remember in the whole time I've lived here. I think we've collectively forgiven the weather gods for that awful winter. It hasn't been too hot, and we've gone down to the beach a few times with Net. We mostly have gone to Lake Washington which is near our house, and they have a great park with a sandy beach and water canals for the kids to dig and re-engineer. So far Net has tried the water a little, but more often enjoys digging in the sand and interacting with all the other kids. We also went to Alki beach, which is on Puget Sound (saltwater connecting eventually to the ocean) at lowest tide for the year. That was pretty fun, and we saw a live abalone (I think), which looks like a huge snail that was digging into the sand. The water was low enough that we were able to gently touch the sea anenomes too, which is always fun. Net got thoroughly muddy and covered in sand and salt water, since she wanted to wade out but kept getting stuck in the sand from the wave action. She fed her crackers to the birds and had a really good time playing in the gunk of low tide. Dirt is very integral to all my happy memories as a small kid, and it was fun to see her enjoying it too!
We tried to go camping a couple of weeks ago, but the area was forecast for thundershowers so we decided to ditch it. Tent camping with a toddler for the first time is a nerve-wracking enough idea, without adding loud booms and rainstorms to the mix. We were desperate to get away for a bit, though, so we ended up going to the sunnier parts of eastern WA and staying in a motel overnight. Net and I swam in the pool there, which was her first full swimming pool experience, not counting wading pools. She was giggly and gasping at the cold water at first. Then she relaxed, and I kept telling her, "I've got you!" until she was repeating it to me ("I got you, Mommy!"). We swam around for a bit, and she had fun stepping off the pool edge into my arms. We'll have to try the pool near our house, and see if she enjoys it as much!
Outings are more fun now, and Net seems to enjoy getting out and seeing different things. It's easier to be a little more flexible with eating and nap times than it was even 6 months ago, which gives us a little more time to go out of the house. She's very into animals right now, and gets excited when she sees dogs or birds. We went downtown over the weekend, and she had a good time chasing and screaming with excitement at the pigeons and seagulls ("Hi bird! Hi bird!"). She also started roaring at them like a lion, and I couldn't stop cracking up. The birds knew they weren't in danger, but they'd give her the nervous eye as they scooted away. The pigeons seem like they could use a little excitement in their lives anyway :)
Well, the summer is flying by, and I hope we get to at least take the canoe out once before it ends. There are many other things I'd like to do, but I'm trying to keep my expectations realistic!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
This baby is active
Ken and I always laugh when we think about what we knew of Netsanet during the adoption process. We sent questions to the orphanage, asking what she likes and what activities she enjoys (oh, we were so clueless! It's a challenge to just make sure everyone is fed and clothed there). The response was a form that had the line "Compared to other children in the orphanage, this baby is ___" They had filled in "active" in the blank space. Oh, we had nooooo idea!
Little Miss Netsanet is a runner and a climber and a shouter. She never stops, even when she is watching TV (she stands up and bounces around for the short periods she does watch tv). She's now climbing on everything and no area of the house is any longer out of her reach. She has figured out how to pull out the dining room chair, so she can climb up onto the dining room table and get to the fruit bowl. She can reach all the tops of the counters in the kitchen. She can climb up onto the couch to get things off the back (where we try to fruitlessly put things out of her reach). There are a lot of loud vocalizations to accompany all of this and I think my hearing may be a little damaged from the shrieks into my eardrum when I pick her up in the middle of one of her activities. We have to take her out to run for several blocks every night when we get home, or she gets really crabby. She's also into breaking mode - in the last week she has broken the remote control and the toilet handle.
Life is a little busy right now, but it's also big fun. She has quite the sense of humor - "uh-oh!" when she pulls something over and it crashes, or "hot!" as she tries to pull over my coffee cup. Like she's completely disassociated from the consequences of her own action, and she's just the victim of some naughty baby in the room who's doing these things to all of us. It's hard not to laugh!
Her lanugage skills are rocking along. She is speaking in some sentences now, and started saying "I love you" back to me just before mother's day (that was a nice present :). It will be a lot of fun to hear what she has to say!
Well, this is a short one but life is busy. We're going to try camping in July, and maybe some additional times once the weather is nice. Here's hoping for a great summer!
Little Miss Netsanet is a runner and a climber and a shouter. She never stops, even when she is watching TV (she stands up and bounces around for the short periods she does watch tv). She's now climbing on everything and no area of the house is any longer out of her reach. She has figured out how to pull out the dining room chair, so she can climb up onto the dining room table and get to the fruit bowl. She can reach all the tops of the counters in the kitchen. She can climb up onto the couch to get things off the back (where we try to fruitlessly put things out of her reach). There are a lot of loud vocalizations to accompany all of this and I think my hearing may be a little damaged from the shrieks into my eardrum when I pick her up in the middle of one of her activities. We have to take her out to run for several blocks every night when we get home, or she gets really crabby. She's also into breaking mode - in the last week she has broken the remote control and the toilet handle.
Life is a little busy right now, but it's also big fun. She has quite the sense of humor - "uh-oh!" when she pulls something over and it crashes, or "hot!" as she tries to pull over my coffee cup. Like she's completely disassociated from the consequences of her own action, and she's just the victim of some naughty baby in the room who's doing these things to all of us. It's hard not to laugh!
Her lanugage skills are rocking along. She is speaking in some sentences now, and started saying "I love you" back to me just before mother's day (that was a nice present :). It will be a lot of fun to hear what she has to say!
Well, this is a short one but life is busy. We're going to try camping in July, and maybe some additional times once the weather is nice. Here's hoping for a great summer!
Friday, March 6, 2009
I smell spring
Finally, the winter appears to be ending... some of the daffodils are blooming, and some of the days are getting warmer and less rainy. Although more snow is forecast for this weekend :p I have never seen such a snowy winter in the 16 years I have lived in Seattle!
I think Netsanet will be really excited to spend more time outside as spring arrives. She is continuing to grow at break-neck speed and is very active. She loves being outside, especially when it's sunny, so I think we will all be relieved when the days are warmer and longer.
She is growing so quickly, it's hard to imagine. She just turned 18 months old. However, she's now growing out of her 18 month clothes and is wearing a lot of 24-month and 2T clothes (I'm kind of clueless and not really sure how those sizes are different, to be honest). Her legs have gotten so long and she continues to stretch taller every day. She has been very tired and whiny this week and wants to go to sleep early and wake up late. She's so sleepy, I bet she's hitting another growth spurt. The time change this weekend will probably be hard on her, but it will also be light in the evenings and we can go for walks when I come home from work.
She has finally started to sit still for small periods of time, as long as she has either coloring or puzzle-type things to occupy her. She loves coloring and has made many lovely Jackson Pollock-like drawings for us. Spatial toys really occupy her interest, but she also gets really frustrated when she tries to make things fit together or come apart. Baby puzzles, large lego blocks, baby food jar with lid, tupperware container with lid - these things will keep her focused for 1/2 hour or so. She concentrates so hard, but she'll scream with frustration if she can't make it work. That little brain is learning so fast, and she is determined to learn everything she can!
While she can sit still for a little while, we still don't think an airplane ride is a great idea. We were going to go to Joshua Tree park in May, but we've decided to postpone until November. I have nightmare visions of a delayed plane, stuck on the tarmac, and trying to keep Net from screaming and running all over the plane. She's quite social, but it's a full time job to keep her from running around and grabbing anything. And I think she's starting to feel that 'terrible twos' frustration - if we prevent her from doing something, it triggers an eardrum-shattering screech. I must say, NOT my favorite sound in the world. I think for now it's a better idea for us to take small local car trips or train trips, rather than try to fly anywhere. At least we can get her out and run around when she needs to.
Net has developed a passion for sitting in furniture. Not sitting still for long, but climbing up into the chair, sitting in it, climbing back out, standing on it, sitting on it, etc etc. She seems to be testing the theory: how are all the ways I can interact with this furniture? This started just before Christmas, when she would try to sit on everything (boxes, etc). She's realized that chairs and couches are for sitting and loves a foam Winnie the Pooh chair at daycare. We bought her a toddler foam couch that folds out into a bed, and she's endlessly amused with sitting on it and standing on it.
She's also practicing sitting on her potty seat. We haven't tried potty training yet, but we're trying to get her used to the potty and have a positive association with sitting on it. Net's daycare provider has recommended that we start trying to potty train her just before she turns 2. I'm so glad we have Miss Dee Dee to talk to - she has a ton of experience with small children and really knows what works for them. Plus she sees Netsanet every day and can tell what's working for her as a person. Every day we're so thankful that she's part of our life!
The other favorite thing right now is the ball. Throwing the ball, chasing the ball, running around with the ball - all REALLY exciting! She giggles and laughs and even drools with excitement; it's very cute! Shoes are also a big hit ('Shoe-shoes' is how she says it). She drags our shoes out and carries them around, and yesterday decided she'd like to try mine on. She tries to put both feet in one big shoe, which is really cute. She also loves her own shoes and helps me to put them on in the morning.
At the end of this month, it will be one year since we all came together as a family. I can't believe it's been only a year, and at the same time I can't believe it's been a whole year! So much has changed, it's hard to fathom. Netsanet has changed so much. I recently gave away some clothes of hers, some of which she wore while we were in Ethiopia. It's amazing to think that those tiny pants were huge on her, and now she couldn't wear them on one leg. She was so quiet and hardly made a peep, and now she's very talkative and social. We never could have imagined this robust little person would grow from that tiny frail baby!
Other than that, it's just every day stuff.... It's amazing how months can just fly by, and it seems like you haven't really done anything ;-) I think back fondly on the days when I could come and go at will, and have a social life (a whole year ago!)... but of course, as the saying goes, I wouldn't change it for the world!
I think Netsanet will be really excited to spend more time outside as spring arrives. She is continuing to grow at break-neck speed and is very active. She loves being outside, especially when it's sunny, so I think we will all be relieved when the days are warmer and longer.
She is growing so quickly, it's hard to imagine. She just turned 18 months old. However, she's now growing out of her 18 month clothes and is wearing a lot of 24-month and 2T clothes (I'm kind of clueless and not really sure how those sizes are different, to be honest). Her legs have gotten so long and she continues to stretch taller every day. She has been very tired and whiny this week and wants to go to sleep early and wake up late. She's so sleepy, I bet she's hitting another growth spurt. The time change this weekend will probably be hard on her, but it will also be light in the evenings and we can go for walks when I come home from work.
She has finally started to sit still for small periods of time, as long as she has either coloring or puzzle-type things to occupy her. She loves coloring and has made many lovely Jackson Pollock-like drawings for us. Spatial toys really occupy her interest, but she also gets really frustrated when she tries to make things fit together or come apart. Baby puzzles, large lego blocks, baby food jar with lid, tupperware container with lid - these things will keep her focused for 1/2 hour or so. She concentrates so hard, but she'll scream with frustration if she can't make it work. That little brain is learning so fast, and she is determined to learn everything she can!
While she can sit still for a little while, we still don't think an airplane ride is a great idea. We were going to go to Joshua Tree park in May, but we've decided to postpone until November. I have nightmare visions of a delayed plane, stuck on the tarmac, and trying to keep Net from screaming and running all over the plane. She's quite social, but it's a full time job to keep her from running around and grabbing anything. And I think she's starting to feel that 'terrible twos' frustration - if we prevent her from doing something, it triggers an eardrum-shattering screech. I must say, NOT my favorite sound in the world. I think for now it's a better idea for us to take small local car trips or train trips, rather than try to fly anywhere. At least we can get her out and run around when she needs to.
Net has developed a passion for sitting in furniture. Not sitting still for long, but climbing up into the chair, sitting in it, climbing back out, standing on it, sitting on it, etc etc. She seems to be testing the theory: how are all the ways I can interact with this furniture? This started just before Christmas, when she would try to sit on everything (boxes, etc). She's realized that chairs and couches are for sitting and loves a foam Winnie the Pooh chair at daycare. We bought her a toddler foam couch that folds out into a bed, and she's endlessly amused with sitting on it and standing on it.
She's also practicing sitting on her potty seat. We haven't tried potty training yet, but we're trying to get her used to the potty and have a positive association with sitting on it. Net's daycare provider has recommended that we start trying to potty train her just before she turns 2. I'm so glad we have Miss Dee Dee to talk to - she has a ton of experience with small children and really knows what works for them. Plus she sees Netsanet every day and can tell what's working for her as a person. Every day we're so thankful that she's part of our life!
The other favorite thing right now is the ball. Throwing the ball, chasing the ball, running around with the ball - all REALLY exciting! She giggles and laughs and even drools with excitement; it's very cute! Shoes are also a big hit ('Shoe-shoes' is how she says it). She drags our shoes out and carries them around, and yesterday decided she'd like to try mine on. She tries to put both feet in one big shoe, which is really cute. She also loves her own shoes and helps me to put them on in the morning.
At the end of this month, it will be one year since we all came together as a family. I can't believe it's been only a year, and at the same time I can't believe it's been a whole year! So much has changed, it's hard to fathom. Netsanet has changed so much. I recently gave away some clothes of hers, some of which she wore while we were in Ethiopia. It's amazing to think that those tiny pants were huge on her, and now she couldn't wear them on one leg. She was so quiet and hardly made a peep, and now she's very talkative and social. We never could have imagined this robust little person would grow from that tiny frail baby!
Other than that, it's just every day stuff.... It's amazing how months can just fly by, and it seems like you haven't really done anything ;-) I think back fondly on the days when I could come and go at will, and have a social life (a whole year ago!)... but of course, as the saying goes, I wouldn't change it for the world!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Busy girl
Well, we made it through our first christmas together in spite of the blizzard-like conditions for a couple of weeks. Net had a cold just before christmas, then her daycare closed due to the record amounts of snow (about 8-14" on the ground for a couple of weeks) and then the usual holiday closure. By the time she got back to daycare, she hadn't seen her buddies for almost a month. She was seriously bored at home and became a pretty severe television addict while we were snowed in. After a few days of being unable to leave the house (couldn't walk because of snow and ice, and it was too cold to play outside for long and unsafe to drive anywhere), we gave up and let the Noggin channel rock during all waking hours. She now bangs on the tv and cries when it's off. (bring on the guilt trip!)
We did get out into the snow a little with her. We were sadly unprepared for the weather and didn't have any boots or even decent winter shoes for her, since it only ever rains and we generally don't go out and play in the rain. I bundled her up in a full body fleece thing, folded the hand and foot parts over her shoes and mittened hands, and put a puffy jacket over that. She couldn't walk due to all the puffiness and covered feet, but I pulled a snow disk sled out of the garage and tied a rope handle to it. We dragged her up and down our street in it, and even went to the park and tried sledding a couple of times. She was ok with it and had fun for about 1/2 hour, saying "weee!" but she'd quickly get cold and sad. 1/2 hour of the day is not a very long stretch to be out of the house. The other 23 1/2 hours were kind of hard. That's where the tv came in. And of course there were no snow clothes or boots to be found in the greater Seattle area. We ordered some online but by the time they came, the snow was gone.
There were a few play dates to break up the weeks, and Ken and I took Net to some nearby coffee shops/restaurants that have play areas. I tell you, those places are great! Before Net, I would have steered clear (the piercing shrieks are a little hard on digestion, especially for non-parents) but now I'm SO glad they are there. It makes us feel like we can actually go out to eat and not worry about trying to keep her in a high chair or quiet the whole time (both are virtually impossible for a very active 17-month old). We still have to watch her, of course, but it's so much easier than fighting her to stay still and quiet for 2 hours. You might as well tell a hurricane to hush up and be still.
Anyway, January 5th was the grand re-entry to normalcy, with Net going back to daycare and Ken and I going back to work. She's obviously very happy with her friends there! We were so worried when it came time for her to start daycare but it has worked out so well.
Net had her first toddler birthday party she attended for our friend's 2-year old daughter over the weekend. It was at the Little Gym, and the activities were a little too organized for Net's age (or maybe just her personality!). She wasn't interested in the group activities and freaked out a little at some of the things (inflatable bouncy thing, for example) but she was very interested in trying to climb on all the gym equipment. I think we will need to get her into some active classes pretty soon...
We also went to our first Martin Luther King Jr. day rally near our house. The march started at Net's nap time so we decided to take her to the earlier rally and then go home. It was an especially big day, since it was also the day before Obama's inauguration! Apparently a lot of other people also wanted celebrate, and the place was packed and hot and noisy. Net made it through about 5 minutes and then started to scream, so Ken took her home. I stayed, and then went back home at the end. I think next year we will skip the rally and try to take her on the march - less sitting still and more moving around is probably more up her alley ;-)
Other than that, life is busy with every day stuff and trying to get clothes and shoes on a frequent enough basis to fit her. She's now wearing 18 month clothing and size 6 shoes. She seems to go through another clothing and shoe size about every 6-8 weeks. This exponential growth has been going on for about 10 months... will it ever level out? Or will we end up with a 6-foot daughter??? (how cool would that be!)
We did get out into the snow a little with her. We were sadly unprepared for the weather and didn't have any boots or even decent winter shoes for her, since it only ever rains and we generally don't go out and play in the rain. I bundled her up in a full body fleece thing, folded the hand and foot parts over her shoes and mittened hands, and put a puffy jacket over that. She couldn't walk due to all the puffiness and covered feet, but I pulled a snow disk sled out of the garage and tied a rope handle to it. We dragged her up and down our street in it, and even went to the park and tried sledding a couple of times. She was ok with it and had fun for about 1/2 hour, saying "weee!" but she'd quickly get cold and sad. 1/2 hour of the day is not a very long stretch to be out of the house. The other 23 1/2 hours were kind of hard. That's where the tv came in. And of course there were no snow clothes or boots to be found in the greater Seattle area. We ordered some online but by the time they came, the snow was gone.
There were a few play dates to break up the weeks, and Ken and I took Net to some nearby coffee shops/restaurants that have play areas. I tell you, those places are great! Before Net, I would have steered clear (the piercing shrieks are a little hard on digestion, especially for non-parents) but now I'm SO glad they are there. It makes us feel like we can actually go out to eat and not worry about trying to keep her in a high chair or quiet the whole time (both are virtually impossible for a very active 17-month old). We still have to watch her, of course, but it's so much easier than fighting her to stay still and quiet for 2 hours. You might as well tell a hurricane to hush up and be still.
Anyway, January 5th was the grand re-entry to normalcy, with Net going back to daycare and Ken and I going back to work. She's obviously very happy with her friends there! We were so worried when it came time for her to start daycare but it has worked out so well.
Net had her first toddler birthday party she attended for our friend's 2-year old daughter over the weekend. It was at the Little Gym, and the activities were a little too organized for Net's age (or maybe just her personality!). She wasn't interested in the group activities and freaked out a little at some of the things (inflatable bouncy thing, for example) but she was very interested in trying to climb on all the gym equipment. I think we will need to get her into some active classes pretty soon...
We also went to our first Martin Luther King Jr. day rally near our house. The march started at Net's nap time so we decided to take her to the earlier rally and then go home. It was an especially big day, since it was also the day before Obama's inauguration! Apparently a lot of other people also wanted celebrate, and the place was packed and hot and noisy. Net made it through about 5 minutes and then started to scream, so Ken took her home. I stayed, and then went back home at the end. I think next year we will skip the rally and try to take her on the march - less sitting still and more moving around is probably more up her alley ;-)
Other than that, life is busy with every day stuff and trying to get clothes and shoes on a frequent enough basis to fit her. She's now wearing 18 month clothing and size 6 shoes. She seems to go through another clothing and shoe size about every 6-8 weeks. This exponential growth has been going on for about 10 months... will it ever level out? Or will we end up with a 6-foot daughter??? (how cool would that be!)
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