Third Thursday celebrates diversity, so she wore her new clothes from Mexico (and new yard sale poncho)
Sitting on the bench with "Uncle Kevin" from Anthony's band
Tired in the car after a Trader Joe's run
We set up her new table and chairs from Aunt Denise that she loves!
I just can't resist her morning hair...
Figuring out where the furniture goes in her doll house
I've been back to work for four weeks now and we're settling into a groove. The weather is definitely that of fall. Clothes on the line aren't completely dry by the end of the afternoon, the gardens are darkening and blooming less frequently (although the three red roses out there now are the best of the season), the tomatoes are fewer and farther between, the windows are rarely opened, and we added a quilt on top of our summer comforter two nights ago. This week I put away the exersaucer and packed up most of Beatrice's summer clothes for the attic, and I must admit I was more melancholy than I'd have guessed packing away her first outfits. I brought down lots of fall stuff and rediscovered four Halloween costumes that are all her size that we have to pick from. I remember first looking at those when they were given to us and thinking how she'd really be a toddler by the time she wore them! That she is. Every single day it she is less and less of a baby. Most parents say to enjoy every minute of babyhood because it goes so quickly and, in our case, it moved at warp speed since we missed 2/3 of it. Oh she still has her moments of loving being held and fed and her cries at times still sound like an infant, but mostly I see an inquisitive, fun-loving, independent, and strong-minded person unfolding before my eyes.
I've assigned Beatrice her first chore, which is feeding Sula twice daily. She's so proud to carry the small bowl of food with two hands to the bowl on the floor, and carefully dumps it in, picking up any pieces that fall one by one and placing it where it belongs. After returning the cup to the plastic bin and sliding the lid in place, she sits on the rug in the piano room, just over the line of the kitchen (the same place where Sula stays while WE eat) and watches Sula devour her meal, pointing and laughing hysterically the whole time.
Anthony and Beatrice are having busy and full days while I'm at school. On Fridays they go to the library for a Music and Movement class and, now that she's really walking, she's loving that. The other days, they vary their activity with visits with friends, playing on the swingset, walks, etc. One of her favorite new pasttimes is to stay at the top of the stairs and throw some plastic rattly balls she has down the stairs. Anthony stays at the bottom and throws them back up and she giggles hysterically as she scoots around to gather them in her bedroom or the landing to throw them back down. She loves watching Sula play fetch, so I think she's trying it out herself. She's also really into her pretend doctor's kit, her giant Legos, books, a sorting/stacking game, and she still loves her blocks. They checked out the animals at Petsmart this week, went to an art show at QVCC, and we all went to Third Thursday in Willimantic Thursday evening to hear Anthony's band play. Beatrice continues to be great about trying new foods and eating a wide variety, as evidenced by her Trader Joe's loves of hummus and smoked salmon pate, and her feast at 3rd Thurs. of rice & beans, falafel, and chicken tikka masala. Then, last night, we went to a Ramadan celebration at the Putnam Science Academy and, again, we didn't pack any food and she ate all of the yummy Middle Eastern dishes. She's been trying to repeat more words, and is consistently saying "more," "mama," and "dada." She signs for "help" in a hysterical way, but isn't using many other signs lately. She's also started calling Sula "Doo Dah" this week, and says "hi" still only when she feels like it. This morning she's been fussy and her nose has been runny so for the heck of it I checked her mouth and, lo and behold, she has more teeth! #13 was so close for so long, but it finally came out fully a day or two ago, and today I discovered a brand new huge top molar that's out and another on the other side oh so close. I think that's the one that's hurting right now. If the website I saw was accurate and children get 16 teeth before age 2, she's very close to being done with teething for a while. I'm ready for that!
Today we're off to our friend Danica's third birthday party. Anthony is playing again tonight, but we'll bow out for that one since it only starts after bedtime. Here's a short video of her walking around at Third Thursday. I was chasing her and videotaping at the same time so she realized she had the edge and she didn't really have to listen to me at all!
