Quinney River - 16 months

My little sweet baby is 16 months today. I'm not sure how that happened, but there it went. That is, there he goes. He's so fast, my life has become a game of chasing him, pulling him out of/off of/away from/down from, yanking sharp or electronic things from his mouth, catching him, and watching him fall.

Granny says, "He doesn't walk, he runs!" Truly, she's right, and it's usually in the opposite direction than where I'm calling him. Just this week, he narrowly avoided blindness (for the second time in his life), had a stapler in his mouth, and has taken to surfing on top of tables.


Like any toddler, he enjoys grabbing and hiding things in odd places (kid plates in the slots of the gas stove, any and everything through the cat door down the stairs, and then there's always his mouth). Skye has taken to saying, "Looks like Little Sneaker scored again" whenever we are missing something.

He has become quite affectionate and doles out hugs and (albeit wet) kisses on those he adores. He received his first dog kiss yesterday from Max, the big neighbor dog, and he wasn't quite sure if he liked that or not. For the few brief minutes that he is cuddly before and after sleep, he is SOOOO loving and huggy that I soak it up as long as he can stand it.

Unless it involves cleaning up toys, Quinn LOVES helping. He grunts as he pulls laundry from the washing machine and squeals when he gets to push the buttons to start it. He does love his buttons. Little Sneaker likes to sweep and clean up spilled drinks, and unlike Skye who was terrified of the vacuum, he wants to turn it on and push it.


He's been communicating a lot, and it is so fascinating to get a peak into his little mind. Okay, maybe I'm the only one that can understand him, but hey, you have to start somewhere. Although his all-time favorite seems to be "hot," (used for any temperature at all) his vast vocabulary includes "cook, Dadda, Mama, eat, foo(d), ca(t), do(g), dri(nk), bu(tton), book, ball, po(tty), poo(p), me(ss), doo(r), bread, hug, hit, and bird."

He's signing up a storm, even combining words. When he takes a break from nursing, looks up at me with a big grin and signs "nurse" and "yay," my heart melts into a little puddle of goo. I am so thankful for the sign language during these months that he doesn't yet have the vocabulary to get his needs across, and I'm sure he's thankful for this tool as well.

He adores his Papa, and squeals with joy when we pick him up from work or Gary comes in the door at home. He often prefers his Dad over me when it comes to playing time (gasp).

And then there's his angel, big sister. He physically cannot focus on nursing when he so much as hears her voice. He looks up at me and says "Sckaa" with excitement and want to go play with her. He follows her around, get frustrated when he can't get up on the rock or the playset with her, but tries hard anyway. But who wouldn't jump at the chance to have a fairy read you a book, even if you have to sit still for a whole minute?


I can't wait to see how this little spirit grows into toddlerhood.

The Last Snow Day of the Year (Maybe)

Our buddies came over to enjoy the last great snow day of the year last week.
The sweeties roasted snow-marshmallows,



got first lessons in eating snow,



and enjoyed a last sled-ride through the snow-covered street being pulled by some worn-out mamas.

This Man

is...
tirelessly working to take care of his loves, the house, the feeder birds, and his cat,
taking salt over to the neighbors for their steep ice-covered driveway,
calling his parents every night,
serving his daughter breakfast every morning before he leaves for work (even if he is late),
forever repairing, replacing, fixing,
working late hours,
cooking, mopping,
and loving to keep his family healthy and happy.



I love his heart song, his banjo song, but especially the music that he makes with our family. I feel so blessed to hold his hand every night.

Butter Dancing

We made our own homemade butter with a friend today. We just put some organic whipping cream in some baby food jars, put on some disco and let the kids dance the cream into butter.

KC and the Sunshine Band's "Shake Your Booty" works well.

After about 15 minutes of shaking our jars, voila, rich creamy butter (and buttermilk to boot.)

Playdough

We do a lot of dough playing around here. And we often make our own. Here is the recipe I use. No clue where it's from.

Mix together
1 C flour
1/2 C salt
2 t. cream of tartar
1 C water
1 T veg oil
few drops food coloring

Cook on warm stove until it forms a ball.

There are few joys for a pre-schooler greater than a fresh warm ball of colored playdough. Enjoy!

Sunflower School in Winter

We've missed our Sunflower School playgroup friends this winter due to snow and sickness. But finally, all were well this week.

After a fun trip to the Nature Center for bird watching and a snow hike,



we went to a friend's house for homemade bread, (This really does make me want a yard sale bread machine, really. I will be on a mission this summer.)



dressing up, of course,



and the chaos of playing.

First Hair Cut

Quinn got his first hair cut a few weeks ago, by Mama no less. It required lots of cracker holding and crying and sister-distraction, but we all made it through without cutting any ears. Happy haircut, my sweet boy.

My Loves

I heart the banjo man.



Happy Valentines Day to you and yours!

Snow Fairies

After hours of errands in the morning, blue skies and bare shaggy bark called us outside for a short while. We had to check on the fairy house today, after all.



All is well in fairyland. Whew!



In case there was any doubt what a toddler does in snow up to his thighs, Quinn spent most of his time outside like this . . .

Recipe for A Snow Day

First you'll need 6-7 inches of snow and a sense of childlike awe.



Add in one Dadda working from home, who doesn't mind interruptions from his sweet children. You'll also need a Mama who has had her hazelnut coffee and apparently is channeling shutterbug.



Then top that off with some maple syrup snow ice cream. (We make an exception to our food coloring ban for this treat, for my childhood nostalgia's sake. February necessitated pink, of course.)



Soak and cook 3 cups of dried beans on the stove all day for chili at dinner.




Throw in some sledding and a snowman with Mama while Quinn naps. Use leaves for the eyes, nose, and mouth.



Then warm toes by the fire, aided by a cow milk steamer with marshmallows.



Add some warm homemade mac and cheese, to taste.



Pair this with 8 cardinals and a Downy Woodpecker and you have a wonderful snowy day.

Little Teacher

Today was one of those days I'll remember until I'm old. Not the whole day, just a short moment of conversation between my amazing daughter and myself. Quinn took an extra long nap today, (and by extra long, I mean more than 1 hour) which has happened maybe twice. What this meant was that Bug and I got some extra Skye and Mama time today, much needed. Instead of trying to incorporate the time into helping me actually get something accomplished (as I often do), I just tried to merge into Skye's flow. This is something I've been consciously trying to work on. It had been a really rough week, and I felt the yuckies between us a bit. So, I let the chores sit for now, I just wanted to BE with my daughter.

Coloring fairy stained-glass pictures from Aunt Julie was her chosen activity. So we colored for a long time, talking gently. Today, I felt that it didn't really matter what we did, but the physical and emotional closeness of being together. I continued to sit with her as I skimmed a book I wanted to read for the upcoming retreat I'm facilitating: The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens by Julie Tallard Johnson. It included several stories that I read to Skye as I found them. Then we got to this old Sufi fable.

"A blackbird found a large piece of food in the village and flew up into the big peaceful sky with the food in its beak. A flock of other blackbirds chased after him and aggressively attacked the food, pulling it from his beak. The blackbird finally let go of the last piece and the frenzied flock left him alone, flying off fighting over the food. The bird swooped through the big blue sky, diving up and down and thought, "I have lost the food, but I have regained the peaceful sky."

After I read the story, we talked about what it meant - letting go is sometimes the way to peace. She said, "that is probably a good story for you, Mama." My body told me immediately that she was speaking Truth. "I know you're right, Skye. Why do you think so?" I asked, knowing I would hear more of the truth. "Because you've been kind of stressed out and all (scrunches her nose up, squints her eyes a bit, and wiggles her fingers near her face)lately."

WOW. There it was. This tiny, little 4 1/2 year-old who likely knows me better than most people in the world right now, has just called me out on the carpet. I talked about how yes, I've got a lot on my mind lately, and how I will try to work on being less stressed out. In my head, I went over the list of stressball-Mama contributors: constantly wishing I had more time for Skye, never getting done with housework, wondering (but not doing anything) about my impending career return, always either chasing Quinn around or caring for him, trying to prepare for the upcoming retreat, and not getting enough sleep, yada, yada, excuses, excuses. But yes, it's no secret that she is right.

We talked about how these are the last few golden months that I can share so much of her precious life before she starts school. I think, frankly, that this fact has me scared stiff, after all these school tours we've been doing, lately. I have been mourning her daily departure before it even happens.

Gary has encouraged me to do more letting go lately, as well - making more simple dinners, blogging less (as you may have noticed), and worrying less about the chaos and mess that is our house. Once again, my little mirror and my partner have given me a good look at what I need to work on. Another lesson from my little Yogi.

In exchange for more peaceful skies, I will work on letting go of those things that I think I need.