Lilahisms

As I've mentioned, Lilah is talking up a storm these days. Two-word utterances are now quite common and she is really starting to realize the pure power of words. While most of what comes out of her mouth is quite cute, there are a couple of word approximations that I find particularly interesting. 

The first of these mispronunciations is "boobies" for blueberries.  Lilah is a huge fan of blueberries.  She is also a huge fan of her mama's boobies.  Perhaps I would be flattered when she compares my mammary glands to a food she holds in such high esteem, if it weren't for the delicate matter of size.  I'd like to think that my boobies are slightly larger than blueberries.  They did sustain her for the first several months of her life, afterall, and she still rather enjoys their output, if I'm not mistaken, even if much less frequently than she did as a newborn.  I think this kid may need to become more familiar with the ancient adage "never bite the boob that feeds you."

And then there is my all-time favourite Lilahism, "buttcheese" for garbage.  I'm not quite sure how she came to call garbage "buttcheese," but I really can't argue with her logic.  If one were to happen upon some buttcheese, the first thing one should do is dispose of said buttcheese in some type of garbage receptacle.  Don't you think?

If you've been following for any length of time, you'll know that I'm a total word nerd and language acquisition is one of my favourite topics.  So humour me with tales of your kids' early words in the comments!

Wednesday of Few Words: Kicking the February Blues

I'll admit it, I've been feeling a little sorry for myself these days. Much of February has been cold and rainy in Vancouver. There hasn't been a long weekend since January 1st, and there isn't another in sight till Easter.  And, let's face it, it's February.  Ugh. To top it all off, I've been working very long hours on Tuesdays, running a workshop for parents in the evenings.  My daily commute is long enough that it doesn't make sense to try to race home for dinner only to sit in traffic for over an hour to get back to the office in time to set up for the workshop.  So I've been spending a maaaaany hours at work on Tuesdays and getting home long after Lilah has gone to sleep and have been missing out on snuggles with my little munchkin.  My stress levels have been high, sleep has been hard to come by, and I haven't exactly been the mother (or speech therapist, for that matter) that I'd like to be.  And Lilah's surgery last week took a lot more out of me than I realized it would.  But... but.  This past weekend was gorgeous and sunny and just what the doctor ordered for a tired, stressed-out mama who's been missing her little family and needing to recharge - it had a little bit of everything:

Swinging with friends at the park;

games of peekaboo;

getting up close and personal with the ducks and geese at Granville Island;



and basking in the sun with Daddy.

Other highlights included dinner and drinks with friends from my mommy group (sans kids, but somehow we ended up talking about them the entire time), and couple good workouts, and making time to do some baking.

Is anybody else suffering from the February Blues?  How do you sweep them away?  Tell me in the comments!

Wordful Wednesday: Surgery Day

Valentine's Day dawned and with it, Lilah's surgery.  The O.R. was actually running ahead of schedule due to some last minute cancellations. so we were in and out of the hospital in under two hours, from start to finish.  Lilah was a rockstar.  By which I mean she raised a little hell and took no prisoners.

I learned that I'm not the only one who thinks Lilah is insanely strong for her size- it took three of us to hold her arms just so that they could put numbing cream on her hands where they would later insert the IV catheter.  More than one nurse commented on her freakish strength.



We are not amused.

Though the procedure was extremely quick and simple, it had to be done under general anesthetic, which I was pretty apprehensive about.  No matter how simple the procedure, and how grateful I was to be there for such a short time, there were a few things that were surprising and emotionally exhausting about the day.  For starters, holding your child while she thrashes about and fights the gas mask before eventually going limp in your arms is exactly as disconcerting as it sounds.  Then there's the scale of things.  Lilah has always been big for her age.  Every check-up, she measures out around the 95th percentile for height and the 75th for weight.  But seeing her in her little hospital gown on the humongous operating room table and later, on the hospital gurney, she just looked so tiny.  Miniscule, actually.  And lastly, though we had been warned that there might be a small amount of discharge from the eye, it still made my stomach drop when she cried blood-tinged tears later in the day.

But it wasn't long until she was back to desecrating books with a red crayon (it was Valentine's Day afterall):

I truly appreciated the well wishes we received.  Even for something so minor, it's really nice to know who's got your back.  There were a few words of wisdom in particular that  warmed my heart, so I just had to share:

I hear your roar, sweetie. You have every right to feel concerned. Lilah is unstoppable! She'll have both eyes squirting out tears in no time (mostly for not getting her way)...

And:

 Melodrama suggests a disproportionate reaction. You're just being a great mum- true this surgery is routine, but not for you and your crew. Be kind to yourself. Pack some chocolate for the waiting room.

(I think I may have taken that last suggestion a little too seriously.  What?  People offered heartfelt advice.  Is was my duty to follow it to the letter.  Note to self: will need to log in some extra cardio hours this week.)

I am also reading "Vanishing Acts" by Jodi Picoult.  An overarching theme of all her novels is motherhood, and this particular quote spoke to me in this week:

When you're pregnant, you an think of nthing but having your own body to yourself again; yet aferiving birth you realize tha the biggest part of you is now somehow external, subject to all sors of dangers and disappearance, so you spend th rest of your life trying to figure out how to keep her close enough for comfort.

Okay, that's it for the hand-wringing and "woe-is-me"-ing.  I promise.  It's safe to say Lilah recovered much more quickly from the ordeal than her mommy and daddy did.  And so far, the eye looks great.  If it's stays clear over the next couple of weeks, we can go ahead and assume it won't cause her any more trouble.  A relief, to say the least!

V-Day, D-Day

Well we all know tomorrow is Valentine`s Day, but you probably didn`t know that tomorrow is also the day Lilah is scheduled to have surgery. She has had a clogged tear duct since birth, and no amount of duct massage or breastmilk-soaked swabs have been able to clear it up.  This means she has to go in for what they call nasolacrymal duct probe and irrigation, a very simple, quick procedure, but one that does need to be performed under general anesthetic.  So for us, V-Day is D-Day.  This impending event is something I have been trying to put out of my head since it was scheduled in December.  Denial is one of my best defense mechanisms (along with procrastination, of course - the two really do go hand in hand).

On Friday the Surgical Day Care Department of BC Children's Hospital called me with the particulars: our surgery is scheduled for 9:50 am on Monday, and we are to present ourselves at the hospital at 8:50 am on the dot.  Lilah is not to eat anything after midnight tonight, and she is allowed water and/or apple juice until 6:50 am.  After that, no food or liquid is to pass her lips.  That should be a real barrel of monkeys.

So we'll have a hungry, cranky toddler on our hands, but it wouldn't be the first time, and it won't be the last.  It won't exactly be a picnic, but, armed with TV, a couple of new toys, and Daddy's iTouch with some freshly downloaded kid-friendly apps for the waiting room, we can survive for a few hours.

The things that make me most apprehensive about tomorrow are the unknowns.  How will she react to the anesthetic?  Will she be scared?  Will I be allowed to be there when they administer the anesthetic?  Will the procedure be successful?  How will she feel afterwards?  Will her eye be sore?  Will she forgive us for putting her through all this?

There is part of me that knows this whole thing really isn't a big deal.  But there's this other part, the mother lion fiercely protecting her cub, who's dreading tomorrow; who doesn't want to put her kid through this; who just wants it to be over and done with; who's wondering if she's going to be able to sleep tonight.  I am quite sure I'm being melodramatic about the whole affair, but when the mama lion roars, we must heed her call.

If you have any words of wisdom for me, please be sure to leave them in the comments section.

"Stylish" Me: 7 Things You Probably Didn't Know

The awesome and ever-so-stylish Harriet at See Theo Run has bestowed upon me my first ever blogging award - and a Stylish one at that!  I guess it takes one to know one.

At the risk of coming off a whole lot less stylish, I'll abide by the rules of the award and share seven things you may not know (nor want to know!) about me:

1. I look a whole lot better with makeup on.  I know this because, whenever I am not wearing makeup, people are constantly approaching me with a concerned look on their face and telling me I look tired.  Nope, that's just how I look without makeup.  But thanks for your concern.

2.  I am highly competitve when it comes to both sports and word games.

3.  I wanted to be a marine biologist when I grew up.  That is, until I realized I would have to apply myself in such challenging high school classes such as chemistry, maths, and oh, I don't know, maybeee... biology.  I settled for applying to Arts programs at several universities, and then somehow ended up with a M.Sc. afterall.  Life is full of surprises.

4.  I seem to have a low tolerance for dairy products, so I save my alotment for small amounts of cheese and large amounts of dessert.  Some things are worth a tummy ache and some flatulence.  (Tres stylish, don't you think?)

5.  My hair is extremely confused.  The top layer is straight, the middle layer is curly/frizzy, and the bottom layer is straight again. I'd be happy with curly or striaght,  I just wish it would just make up its damn mind already!

6.  I am actually a ninja.  (More on that in a future post.)

7. I love me a good nap.  Speaking of which...

**********************************************************************************

And I'm back!  (Still look tired, in case you were wondering.)  And now, to spread the love.  Here are my nominees for the Stylish Blogger Award:

Juju Be Baby: Celina's (extremely brave!) year-long adventure traveling around the world with her husband and toddler Juju in tow
Old School/New School Mom: Sarah shares daily anecdotes and points out the ironies of motherhood
The Adventures of Brain Tumour Man: Taleen documents her family's journey as they take on her husband's brain tumour diagnosis and prove that they are true superheroes
Oscarelli: Jenni barely contains the chaos of life with two boys only 18 months apart
All Day I Dream About Food: My sister Carolyn proves that kickin' it low carb in the kitchen doesn't mean sacrificing flavour or fun

Cheers, stylish ladies!  Feel free to pass this on or ignore it completely.

Wordless Wednesday: Bathtime Fun

Duckie, anyone?

Apparently the baby ducks are having quite the conversation!

Peekaboo!  (Or as she says it, "Aboo!")



The Kid is the Key

This is the conversation I am certain took place between my two cats in the very early hours of this morning:

Rory Calhoun: We have to get outside, man.  This tiny apartment is stifling my hunter's spirit.

Sophie:  I know, totally.

Rory Calhoun:  Let's try our whiniest meows and see if that gets those lazy sods out of bed to let us out.

Sophie: Meow, whine, meow.

Rory Calhoun:  Hmmm, maybe if we jump on the bed repeatedly...?

Sophie: I'm jumping, I'm jumping.

Rory Calhoun:  I'm going to try scratching on the furniture and see if that does the trick.

(Elapsed time: 67 minutes)

Rory Calhoun:  It's no use, we've been whining for over an hour now, and the big one with the short hair just keeps snoring, and the smaller one with the long hair keeps hissing at me.  Ack!  She just sprayed me with water!

Sophie:  Oh, the nerve!

Rory Calhoun:  Okay, let's take a few minutes to regroup and come up with a new strategy.

Sophie:  Sounds good, boss.

(Elapsed time: 2 minutes and 39 seconds)

Rory Calhoun:  By George, I think I've got it!!!

Sophie:  What?  What?  What have you got?  Don't tell me it's fleas!

Rory Calhoun:  No, no, you imbecile, I've come up with a foolproof plan for getting those lazy buggers up and at 'em - or at least up for long enough to open the back door and let us out. 

Sophie:  Oooooh, let's hear it, then.  I'm all ears!

Rory Calhoun:  We scratch on door of the tiny one's room.  You know, the one that chases us around, screaming and trying to grab our tails?

Sophie:  I don't get it, boss.  That one is useless to us.  She can't reach door handles yet, and they have her in that cage with the open top so she can't get out of bed.

Rory Calhoun:  No, stupid, we don't need her to open the door for us, we only need her to wake up.

Sophie:  Huh?

Rory Calhoun:  Sigh.  Am I the only one with half a brain around here?  The kid is the key.  Haven't you noticed that whenever the kid wakes up and starts up that godawful racket, the big ones go running to her?  And by that point, they figure they might as well open the back door for us, since they're up anyway.  I'm telling you, the kid is the key.

Sophie:  Ahhhhh, now I catch your drift.  The kid is the key.  Genius, boss, pure genius!

Rory Calhoun: Yeah, I know, I'm kitty mensa material.  Now let's get to work!

          *********************************************************************

(If you hadn't already figured it out, Rory Calhoun is the ringleader and Sophie is our rescue kitty - she had a rough childhood and, as a result, she isn't exactly the brightest sock in the drawer.)

So, anybody want a cat (or two)?

Celebrating One Year of Lilahbloggity

On February 4th, 2010, with my first ever post, I dipped my toe into the vast ocean that is the blogosphere.  And the water?  It was fine.  More than fine, actually.  I've been hooked ever since.

It's been exactly one year since I started this blog.  It has become such a valuable outlet for me over the past year.  It's a space where I can vent my frustrations and share my triumphs, motherhood-related and beyond.  A place for preserving our family memories and displaying my favourite photos of my favourite little girl.  And I have connected with some really cool people in the process.

So, happy birthday to my bloggy baby.  I don't always give you the attention you deserve, but you've been good to me all the same.  Just one question... what to wish for! 
Hmmm... maybe more readers?  :)

Me (at what I estimate to be age seven, judging by the number of candles),
pondering my birthday wish

To those who have been following along: thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and thanks for inspiring me to continue.

January 2011 Recap

Amber Strocel does a monthly recap and has invited others to play along and link up. So here's what I learned in January:

1.  Creating a slideshow on Windows Movie Maker is a whole lot easier than I expected.  And I really enjoy the process.  I'm already looking for an excuse to whip up another one!

2.  There's nothing like a friend visiing from out-of-town (out-of-country, actually) to get a whole bunch of old friends all in the same room.

3.  Credit card roulette is a dangerous little game, especially when the the bill is for dinner for ten people at a decent restaurant.

4.  I'm usually behind the camera, so occasionally a self-portrait is in order.

5.  Baby putting babies to bed: funny stuff.

6.  No Glee for an entire month can lead to serious withdrawls.

7.  Baby's first haircut doesn't have to be a huge ordeal.  And as a bonus, I have rediscovered the little divet at the nap of her neck - the sweetest, softest, most perfectly kissable little divet in the history of divets.

8.  Every parent should have a healthy supply of stickers on hand at all times. 

9.  There is nothing more thrilling and more hilarious than your child's first attempts at saying new words.

10.  Apparently, my New Year's Resolutions are no match for Procrastination, Excuses, Job Stress, and Gluttony.  Not to worry, February will be my month!