Congrats to Slane on sprouting a second tooth!
Image courtesy of Milnefamily
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Valentine's baptism
Slane turns 11 months old today! I have loved getting to know her and watching her become a person. She is a great kid!
Last Sunday, our niece Ella was baptized. It was my idea to have her baptized on Valentine's Day (not cocky about that at all). What a great day to show her she is loved so much and welcomed by a larger family. While we were there I was thinking about Slane's baptism.
I love the part about baptism that asks the church to support and take care of the child too. I think our church has certainly taken that to heart. They are always quick to jump in and hold her during choir, or play with her in the nursery, or watch her for a morning or afternoon when we are in a bind. They love her and love taking care of her. They admire her and ask what new thing she is doing or saying. They chuckle when she gets chatty during the silent prayer, and they pick up her toys and return them. They let her play with their moustaches, and love to hold her on their laps. They are patient when Slane is climbing the steps onto the stage or trying to eat the prayer cards.
A couple of Sundays ago one of the grandmas in our church took her for the end of choir rehearsal. Slane proceeded to fall asleep on Grandma Janet, and slept there the entire church service. It was so sweet to watch our little girl cuddle on someone else, and so nice for us to really enjoy a whole service together.
Last Sunday, our niece Ella was baptized. It was my idea to have her baptized on Valentine's Day (not cocky about that at all). What a great day to show her she is loved so much and welcomed by a larger family. While we were there I was thinking about Slane's baptism.
I love the part about baptism that asks the church to support and take care of the child too. I think our church has certainly taken that to heart. They are always quick to jump in and hold her during choir, or play with her in the nursery, or watch her for a morning or afternoon when we are in a bind. They love her and love taking care of her. They admire her and ask what new thing she is doing or saying. They chuckle when she gets chatty during the silent prayer, and they pick up her toys and return them. They let her play with their moustaches, and love to hold her on their laps. They are patient when Slane is climbing the steps onto the stage or trying to eat the prayer cards.
A couple of Sundays ago one of the grandmas in our church took her for the end of choir rehearsal. Slane proceeded to fall asleep on Grandma Janet, and slept there the entire church service. It was so sweet to watch our little girl cuddle on someone else, and so nice for us to really enjoy a whole service together.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
pyschological study
All of the babies born at our hospital are invited to participate in a study that a professor in the psychology department at the college is conducting. They track eye movements to study infants scanning and memory of human faces. So, Q had finally called to get our appointment set up, and it was yesterday.
Fortunately, yesterday we got out of school early due to snow, so I was home with Slane when he called with 10 minutes notice that she needed to be on campus for her study. She had not napped yet, and was in the middle of eating dried fruit and cheerios. Rather than drive the whole block that it was to get there, I loaded Slane up in the jogging stroller and bundled us up and headed out to campus.
So, first, imagine trying to get through snow drifts with a stroller. Then imagine the looks you get as you try to cross the street, and then go on campus. We got several second looks. I'm sure people thought I was crazy. Maybe I am.
The study was interesting. I had to hold Slane and wear dark glasses so she couldn't reference my eyes or face. She got to look at faces. We both got to listen to annoying music, like Teletubbies and Elmo. She wore a headband with some connection to a camera that taped the whole thing. She did really well, and was quiet and made it through the entire 15 minute study.
We got presents for our participation. Slane got a certificate and she got to choose a toy (3 of the 4 we already had, now we know where they came from), so we got a new sippy cup. I got a Wal-Mart gift card for my effort.
So, at that point, an hour had passed and there was a lot more snow. In my 10 minutes of preparation to head out into the snow, I had remembered that I had CDs and scores that were about a month overdue, so I grabbed those, which meant a stop in the library.
So, imagine those looks from passersby, and then imagine that in a college library with a baby. Up to this point I had only taken her to Burling during the summer.
Errands finished, we made the final drive for home. The wind had picked up, and it was cold. Slane was understandably fussy as I chose to avoid the sidewalk and take to the middle of the street. I got to our door after some clever maneuvering of the stroller up the steps, and got us inside, and cheered.Then I started to get Slane out of the stroller and noticed that she was asleep.
Our daughter fell asleep in the middle of a snowstorm in her stroller. And slept until 11, took a bottle, and slept until morning.
Fortunately, yesterday we got out of school early due to snow, so I was home with Slane when he called with 10 minutes notice that she needed to be on campus for her study. She had not napped yet, and was in the middle of eating dried fruit and cheerios. Rather than drive the whole block that it was to get there, I loaded Slane up in the jogging stroller and bundled us up and headed out to campus.
So, first, imagine trying to get through snow drifts with a stroller. Then imagine the looks you get as you try to cross the street, and then go on campus. We got several second looks. I'm sure people thought I was crazy. Maybe I am.
The study was interesting. I had to hold Slane and wear dark glasses so she couldn't reference my eyes or face. She got to look at faces. We both got to listen to annoying music, like Teletubbies and Elmo. She wore a headband with some connection to a camera that taped the whole thing. She did really well, and was quiet and made it through the entire 15 minute study.
We got presents for our participation. Slane got a certificate and she got to choose a toy (3 of the 4 we already had, now we know where they came from), so we got a new sippy cup. I got a Wal-Mart gift card for my effort.
So, at that point, an hour had passed and there was a lot more snow. In my 10 minutes of preparation to head out into the snow, I had remembered that I had CDs and scores that were about a month overdue, so I grabbed those, which meant a stop in the library.
So, imagine those looks from passersby, and then imagine that in a college library with a baby. Up to this point I had only taken her to Burling during the summer.
Errands finished, we made the final drive for home. The wind had picked up, and it was cold. Slane was understandably fussy as I chose to avoid the sidewalk and take to the middle of the street. I got to our door after some clever maneuvering of the stroller up the steps, and got us inside, and cheered.Then I started to get Slane out of the stroller and noticed that she was asleep.
Our daughter fell asleep in the middle of a snowstorm in her stroller. And slept until 11, took a bottle, and slept until morning.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Feeling ditchy
I'm watching Iowa's latest snowstorm from our truck in a ditch. The unexpected free time gives me an opportunity to write about Slane's latest exploits.
Rotavirus: it's a terrible bug and really affected Slane for over a week. Our happy child had suddenly become sleepy and lethargic, wailing from the pain and needing to be held all the time. Sunday she reverted to her happy, healthy self.
Happy and healthy now includes lots of crawling, standing, and exploration. The stairs are a magnet and she has a proud but devious smile each time we pull her off the stairs. She can stand and sit with ease, though she still needs something (wall, chair, leg, etc.) to steady her.
Happy and healthy also means thinking defying sleep. We've had to be firm with a bedtime routine (bottle, book, rocking). To this routine she adds crying, whimpers, and quiet sleep. We caved to her Monday but outlasted her protests the rest of the week. Tuesday they lasted what felt like an hour, other days they lasted no more than 10 minutes.
Here's my translation of her cries from the crib: "This is an injustice! Why are you leaving me! I won't stand for this! CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? ... I am still upset! I am going to continue to protest these unjust conditions by laying down and closing my eyes while still crying. Just wait until you come back, you'll be zzzzzzzzzzzz"
Minnesota: The people of the State of hockey (Minnesota) welcomed us this weekend. We visited with friends from college (N. and family and M.) and Grinnell (S., V., and C. and K.). A generous friend (K.) gave us tickets to the Wild-Blue Jackets game at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. It was a good time, except for the part where the Wild won. Slane wore her homemade Jackets sweater which got compliments from fans of both teams. We also made a trek to the blue and gold temple that is Ikea. We made our offering and left with some items for Slane (toy bins, a lamp, and other baby-friendly items).
More pictures and stories soon.
Rotavirus: it's a terrible bug and really affected Slane for over a week. Our happy child had suddenly become sleepy and lethargic, wailing from the pain and needing to be held all the time. Sunday she reverted to her happy, healthy self.
Happy and healthy now includes lots of crawling, standing, and exploration. The stairs are a magnet and she has a proud but devious smile each time we pull her off the stairs. She can stand and sit with ease, though she still needs something (wall, chair, leg, etc.) to steady her.
Happy and healthy also means thinking defying sleep. We've had to be firm with a bedtime routine (bottle, book, rocking). To this routine she adds crying, whimpers, and quiet sleep. We caved to her Monday but outlasted her protests the rest of the week. Tuesday they lasted what felt like an hour, other days they lasted no more than 10 minutes.
Here's my translation of her cries from the crib: "This is an injustice! Why are you leaving me! I won't stand for this! CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? ... I am still upset! I am going to continue to protest these unjust conditions by laying down and closing my eyes while still crying. Just wait until you come back, you'll be zzzzzzzzzzzz"
Minnesota: The people of the State of hockey (Minnesota) welcomed us this weekend. We visited with friends from college (N. and family and M.) and Grinnell (S., V., and C. and K.). A generous friend (K.) gave us tickets to the Wild-Blue Jackets game at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. It was a good time, except for the part where the Wild won. Slane wore her homemade Jackets sweater which got compliments from fans of both teams. We also made a trek to the blue and gold temple that is Ikea. We made our offering and left with some items for Slane (toy bins, a lamp, and other baby-friendly items).
More pictures and stories soon.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sick
Slane is finally on the backside of Rotavirus. She started with diarhea last Friday and was screaming on and off, but we thought it was teeth. On Sunday, Slane and I were taking a nap, and when we woke up I heard the diaper before I realized that it had exploded all over the sheets on the bed. Then on Monday, Miss Denise called and she had a fever. Q was on a business trip from Saturday to Wednesday, so I tried to leave school early so I could take her to the doctor (nobody would cover my last class for me though), and finally got her there a little before closing. He said she had this virus, and she would be a sick for a couple more days and wasn't good to go to daycare. It was a rough few days for me. My mom watched her Tuesday, I took Wednesday, and Q took Thursday. Tuesday night we were up at 2am and she threw up on the clean sheets I had just put on. She is back at daycare today (no fever for 24 hours, and no diarhea). I guess the biggest fear with rotavirus is dehydration, but she kept taking bottles (not as much as usual, though) and was drinking from her sippy cup. It turns out she does NOT like Pedialyte. She would push it away every time I offered it to her. The worst was when it hurt her little intestines so much that she would just scream. She was so cuddly, but everyone could tell she just wasn't feeling like herself.
I was extremely happy to see Q pull up on Wednesday. And, one of my students stopped me in the hall today to ask how Slane was doing. I said she was feeling better, and the student said, "good, then you won't be so crabby the next time I have music."
So, needless to say, we are way behind on blogging and life and projects. We will post Christmas when we finally take Christmas down from our house.
Oh, one more thing... a big welcome to baby Einar, who was born on the 5th. I'm glad we didn't come to visit on Sunday, but we will come meet him soon!
I was extremely happy to see Q pull up on Wednesday. And, one of my students stopped me in the hall today to ask how Slane was doing. I said she was feeling better, and the student said, "good, then you won't be so crabby the next time I have music."
So, needless to say, we are way behind on blogging and life and projects. We will post Christmas when we finally take Christmas down from our house.
Oh, one more thing... a big welcome to baby Einar, who was born on the 5th. I'm glad we didn't come to visit on Sunday, but we will come meet him soon!
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