Wednesday of Few Words: Baby's First Haircut

Business in the front...

Party in the back.

One more time, for the cheap seats, that's PARTY IN THE BACK!

Wasn't too keen on a strange woman touching her head while sitting in a flowery car, so we did the haircut sitting on Mama's lap.  The bubbles and Elmo's World playing on multiple TVs helped immensely.

Looking a little nervous... (or possibly trying to blow bubbles?)

Muuuuuch better

Cool dude!  (Too bad her fly's undone, it kinda ruins the swag factor.)

This was a great experience all around.  Which is kinda shocking given that Lilah had just had her 18-month shots and check-up at the doctor's office.  If you live in Vancouver, I highly recommend Melonheads.  They gave us a few locks of hair in a little baggie and a keepsake photo of the finished product, as well as a little "first haircut" certificate.  They were also masters of the art of distraction.  We'll undoubtedly be going back there in the future.

Lilish

Over the past couple of months, Lilah has had quite the language explosion.  Jargon is mostly a thing of the past.  She has gone from having a handful of words in her vocabulary to over fifty and has started combining two, and sometimes even three, words in sentences.  For me, as a Speech-Language Pathologist and self-professed word nerd, this is hands-down the most thrilling aspect of her development.  There are some words, like "up," that are pronounced perfectly and would be understood by any Joe Shmoe.  But there are many that mean something only to the select few of us who understand Modern Lilish.  Below you will find a few of my favourite Lilish words:

No. - No (Lilish is a tonal language, apparently - see variations on "No" below)
Noooo.... - No, and if you don't listen to me I'm going to lose it.
NNNOOO! - I think this one is self-explanatory 
Yeeese - Yes (kinda like the way Mr. Burns says it)
Ma-mee - Mommy
Da-dee - Daddy
kacker - cracker
ocker - yogurt
'nana - banana
keekee - cookie
shees - cheese
foofoo - tofu
otter - water
muck - milk
ed - head (she is one quarter Liverpudlian, so she comes by the silent 'h' honestly)
my- mine
shash - wash
poo-pee - poopy
bee-bee - baby
gah - car
buck - book
chuck - truck
aahhhdoon - all done
moah - more
batch - garbage
shoosh- shoes
at - hat (again, evidence of her Liverpool roots)
shaish - chair
neenup - clean-up
teedee - TV (this one is a bit embarassing, especially if you could see how excited she gets at the very thought of being allowed to watch tv)
bapf - bath
bokbok - chicken
baabaa - sheep

Here's a video so you can get a feel for the pronunciation of common Lilish words like "baby," "mommy," "all done," and "ball."

Lilish is a primitive language, but its components can be combined to form two- and occasionally even three-word sentences, such as "bye bath," "more cracker," and "no bye kitty."  Of course, those require a translator with an intricate knowledge of Lilish (namely Ma-mee or Da-dee) to interpret to the general public.

Wednesday of Few Words

She could have her own daycare.  She'd be the Nap Master (or a Napzi, like me):

Except I think sleeping on the job would be frowned upon. 

As would smothering the babies by putting blankets over their faces.  Meh, minor details!

Wednesday of Few Words: Clothing Optional Picnic

Nothing beats a good old fashioned picnic!  Except a good old-fashioned picnic in the buff.  (Diapers not optional - nobody likes a soggy picnic host!)


Mmmm, cheese.

Note the crossed ankles (always a lady) and emerging tongue tip
(throwing a decent picnic takes a lot of concentration, you know!)

She does "cheers" with the wine glasses, too. 
Didn't catch it on camera, so you'll have to take my word for it and make do with this face of cuteness.

What I Learned in December 2010

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


1. Toddlerhood is like a roller coaster ride.  There's a whole lot of screaming, sudden ups and downs, and it's both thrilling and exhausting at the same time.

2.  A twenty-four hour stomach bug can last over two weeks for a wee one.  And that means a lot of time off work (which will have to be made up at some point), a lot of TV, and a lot of laundry.  Oh, and laminate floors are an asset when dealing with a vomitous toddler.

My sickie baby

3. Getting interested in photography has helped me notice the beauty all around me. 

4. Killing time between a morning car nap and a birthday party can lead to an unexpectedly beautiful discovery.

5. Watching everything you've ever learned about language acquisition (which is actually quite a lot, when you've done a Master's Degree in speech-language pathology) played out in your own child is absolutely fascinating.

6.  Watching your daughter play with her grandfather is an incredibly heart-warming sight.  Especially when she used to shake uncontrollably and cry with fear when he came anywhere near her.  Three cheers for progress!

7.  My super mama sense of smell is almost, but not quite, infallible.  It is possible for the occasional poo-poo to sneak by me.  (Mwahaha, dare you clink the poo-poo link?)

8.  Furry hamster toys that move and dollies that crawl freak Lilah right out.  Like, shuddering with fear and clinging to Mommy's leg freak her out.  To the point that it takes removing the toy from sight and several minutes of special cuddles to calm her down.

9.  Christmas makes so much more sense when you have a child.  More to do, mostdefinitely, more stressful, probably, but also so much more magical.  And the stress and the busy-ness all become totally worth it for the sound of toddler squeals of excitement on Christmas morning.  So worth it.

10.  A quiet New Year's Eve games night can get rowdy rather quickly when there's alcohol involved.

This is about all I remember from our "quiet" games night on New Year's Eve.
And it's that blurry in my memory too.

2010 Reflections and Slideshow

2010 was a pretty awesome year for us Lilahbility folk.  We went to Maui for a friend's wedding in January, welcomed the world into our beautiful city for the Winter Olympics in February, watched Lilah take her first steps in February, celebrated our first Mother's Day and Father's Day as parents in May and June, threw Lilah a big first birthday bash in July, met up with family and friends in Ontario in August, got Lilah settled into daycare and settled myself back into the work routine in the late summer and early fall, took a long weekend family trip to Whistler in November, and worked on creating our own holiday traditions in December.  There were plenty of ups and downs, new teeth, runny noses, first tastes of cake and ice cream, and more than a few family dance parties.  We've watched her go from a worm/beached whale/commando crawl to a proper crawl to cruising furniture to wobbly steps to outright running, and from a couple of gestures and signs to her first spoken word to two-word combinations and carrying a vaguely recognizable tune.  Evolution in the microcosm.  And when you stop and think about it, all you can do is feel blessed to have been a spectator to it all.  And pleased that you managed to capture most of the moments on camera.

So, without further ado, here is a slide show of some of my favourite Lilahbility moments of 2010, set to "Dog Days Are Over" - the Glee Cast version, because I like it more than the original.*  I hope you'll enjoy it even a fraction as much as I do!



*And because I am obsessed with Glee.  I am also obsessed with watching this slide show over and over again, to see if I can do it just once without getting a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. So far, no luck.

Wordful Wednesday: A Christmas Lilahbility

It's the day after the day after the day after Christmas and the gifts have all been opened.  (Well, not all, actually - we're saving a few of Lilah's for a rainy day.  Oh, who am I kidding?  It's winter in Vancouver, they're all rainy days!  More accurately, we're saving them for a bored and grumpy day.)  The turkey has been devoured, the joy and excitement felt, the giggles shared, and the photos snapped.

 

A little Christmas morning magic

My tongue and teeth hurt from all the crap I have eaten over the past few days, and  yet, as I sit here, I am unwrapping yet another mini Toblerone bar.  Santa put too many in my stocking and I just can't stay away.  Besides, I have only a few more days to indulge before those darned New Year's Resolutions must be abided.

Another Christmas is over, and I have that feeling of satisfaction, fullness, and restlessness that comes in the wake of overindulgence, time with family, and barely-contained chaos.  It was a good one, my friends.

My Christmas spirit had been almost completely quashed by Lilah's illness during the two weeks leading up to the festivities.  I wrote about it here, but little did I know that it wasn't actually over at that point.  Two more days of vomiting and diarrhea had us driving to a drop-in medical clinic at 5pm on Tuesday.  All we got from that was a little reassurance and a requisition for a stool sample.  You'll have to get the Hubs to share that story someday - a whole new high in his parenting experience, I assure you!  But by Wednesday she was starting to seem a bit more like the Lilahbility we know and love, so we decided to proceed with our plans to head to the top of Grouse Mountain for our breakfast with Santa.  Well, this is how that turned out:

It was a little ambitious, perhaps.  No matter, the Hubs and I enjoyed our buffet breakfast, and Lilah was so exhausted by the whole experience that she dozed off during the four minute gondola ride back down to the bottom of the mountain and then fell into a deep sleep on the car ride home.  I think she'll enjoy it a lot more next year, when she is a little older and more Christmas-savvy and (knock on wood) not just getting over an epic tummy bug.

The real magic happened on Christmas day.  It was enough  to make me believe in Christmas miracles again.  Our girl, who has been under the weather and a little sad for quite some time now was happy and smiling - an absolute delight all day long.  And she ate.  Boy, did she eat!  The clinginess and whines for "mama" of the past few weeks were replaced with giggles and cute scrunchy-faced smiles.  And that was the best Christmas gift we could ever have asked for.  My new camera accoutrements, tickets to Cirque du Soleil, and bath products were really just icing on the cake.



Christmas finery provided by Grandma and Grandpa

We arrived at my in-laws' place long before the rest of the family, so there was plenty of time to bond with Grandma and Grandpa (after the requisite warm-up period, of course), admire the tree and decorations, and for Lilah to indulge in a long winter's nap before things got really chaotic: 

It's not a wild and crazy Christmas dinner unless someone takes their clothes off.
(In her defence, her three-year-old cousin did it first.)

If you were wondering how she got the belly in the last photo, this would be it.
Apparently ice cream is now a finger food.  The spoon was purely for show.

I think we are now officially in the "holiday hangover" phase.  There are a few extra Toblerone pounds on my frame.  There are brand new toys strewn across my living room that the Hubs and I have been tripping over a hundred million times a day.  There is a lop-sided gingerbread house with most of the candy decorations picked off, looking a little sad and forlorn on the kitchen counter.  All proof that things are just as they should be at this time of year.

This is the Time of Year...

This is the time of year...

When I want to scream at the traffic lights, "C'mon, change.  Change.  CHANGE!!!"

When the sappiest, cheesiest, most obvious things make me cry.

When I am constantly running behind and apologizing to myself and others for just not being able to do it all.

When I want to create holiday traditions for my little family that will last through the years; traditions that my kid(s) will look back on with fond memories when they start their own families.

When being at the mall makes me feel like this:

"Oh no, we're going to the mall?  Again???!!!"

When I feel so incredibly lucky to be able to say (with total honesty) that I genuinely like my in-laws!

When our bank account bleeds money.  Like a severed artery.  With no hope of rescue till January.

When I remind myself to take stock and count my many blessings.  The past 18 months have been one wild, amazing, bumpy, and beautiful ride.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wordless Wednesday

The Hair Edition:

I can't believe you are making me wear my hair like this.  Oh, the humiliation!

Wait!  I have an idea!

Almost there. Just. Have. To. Pull. A. Little. More...

Got it!

Muuuuuch better!

Vomitous

*This blog contains graphic descriptions of a family dealing with a nasty stomach virus.  Reader discretion is advised*

Hi, it's me.  I haven't been around much lately, I know.  There's a good reason for that.

What's that smell, you ask?  Sorry.  It's kinda been following me around since last Monday.  It might be the smell of the contents of our fridge rotting since it's barely been touched in the past week.  Or it could be vomit.

Lilah brought us home a little present last Monday.  It was... (in best Price is Right voice) a lovely stomach bug!!!  And when Miss Lilah has a tummy ailment, she doesn't rest until all the contents of her stomach are strewn across our apartment.  Oh, and she also marks the hallway and front steps of our apartment building as her territory too, just for good measure.

So that was the beginning of last week.  I stayed home with her on Tuesday, and the Hubs took the day off to look after her on Wednesday.  It was kind of a relief to go to work on Wednesday knowing that she was starting to turn the corner and her daddy was looking after her.  And once I had showered the vomit out of my hair, I was feeling pretty spiffy and ready to be a speech therapist again, as opposed to playing the role of barf-cleaner-upper I had on Tuesday. 

But apparently I started celebrating too soon.  My first appointment of the day?  An adorable four-year-old boy.  He and his mother rush in, slightly distraught at being 10 minutes late due to traffic.  No sooner do they get in the door then he upchucks in the front entrance/waiting area.  While his mom is busy cleaning him up in the bathroom, someone has to deal with the chunks in the waiting room.  When I saw one of our admin staff members jump right in - with gloves on, of course - and it happened to be her birthday, poor woman - I strapped some gloves and got down to work too.  I'd been dealing with it for the past two days anyway.  But that's when I started to suspect that the vomit might be following me around.

Lilah seemed to be recovering, and when neither the Hubs or I had come down with it by Saturday, I figured we were in the clear.  One thing I have learned in my 17 months as a parent is that, as soon as you think you are in the clear for anything, the universe will mock you.  Sunday night I started feeling a little woozy and achy and by midnight I knew I would be calling in sick on Monday.  I may gloss over the details here, because nobody wants to hear about the inner workings of my digestive system, but let me just tell you, this was one nasty bug.  And then of course Lilah, who had been okay for four whole days, randomly puked all over the Hubs after he picked her up from daycare that afternoon.

My many warnings to the Hubs to eat bland food in case he, too, should come down with this horrid bug went unheeded.  The man thinks he is invincible.  Seriously, any reference to illness or injury has him assuring me that he is Wolverine of the X-men.  Sure enough, 4:30 am on Wednesday saw him sprinting to the bathroom gagging and sorely regretting his decision to eat nothing but hummus and chocolate for dinner on Tuesday.

Now it is the weekend again and the Hubs and I are back to gorging ourselves on the rich food of the season.  Lilah, having actually learned something from the whole experience, is still studiously avoiding any food that happened to be in her tummy at the onset of each episode, which, let's be honest, was pretty much all her regular foods and stand-by meals.  Which means she is currently essentially living off mac 'n' cheese and breast milk.

And now, almost two weeks after the whole debacle started, I'm finally starting to shake the vomit smell from my nostrils.  Sweet baby Jesus, I think I can smell the candy canes and gingerbread again!

Got any vomit stories you'd like to share?  Tell me in the comments, and don't worry if it's gross -  I have a strong stomach (most of the time)!