See you soon!

My mom and dad left today; as evidence of how spoiled I got while they were here, I didn't prepare or eat lunch for myself until 3 p.m. when I finally boiled some pasta and threw shredded cheese on it. A far cry from the daily menu of stir-fries and steak we've been having around here!

Valerie cried and cried this morning when they left.

Here are some photos of our excursion to the Arboretum on Saturday (where she also nursed for, apparently, the last time...!)

Wha'....?

So... Valerie has QUIT NURSING. Pretty close to cold turkey. Since Friday morning she has only nursed once - Saturday at the Arboretum. I have no idea why, she just doesn't want it anymore!

I'm both elated and sad!

Misc Family

So Terry has been back for 5 days now, and Valerie has settled back into her normal nighttime routine. It took that long. But we're all getting a little more sleep around here now and it feels GREAT.

We're really enjoying having Grandma Irma and Grandpa Conrad in town, helping out in a thousand different ways (playing with V., cooking 3 hot meals a day, scanning slides of Terry's babyhood, running to the post office...). I haven't downloaded photos yet but will have those up soon. Ish.

Yesterday was my beautiful sister Anita's birthday! Happy birthday, P! I love you!

Quote

As a fledgling anthropologist, this thought struck a chord with me - Pam writes about the commodification of "traditional" or "native" cultural practices:

"I have to believe that the difference between exploration and exploitation is the heart that we bring to the experience, the knowledge and respect."

You can read the full post on her blog, Blood Signs.

Flying Solo

Terry left for the airport at 3 a.m., headed out to do some workshops on international development in Colombia. The house feels really empty.

Maybe because his clothes aren't piled all over the couch anymore :-)

17 Months!

Top two photos were taken at the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale, and the bottom two at church (nursery and library)

17 months old today! I uploaded my pictures, and I noticed how much harder it's getting to get a good face shot. For one thing, she won't hold still! For another, every time she sees the camera she wants to look at the pictures on the back display.

I'm happy to report that the sores on her tongue are gone, and her gums look better. Phew! We should be back to normal by the weekend, according to Dr. Google.

Here are some 17-month markers:

Favorite song: still "Old MacDonald," which she requests by hooting "Ooo! Ooo!" in a very high-pitched voice.

Favorite food: green peas

Favorite activity: going to the Children's Museum

Favorite toy: hmm.... probably the bath toy that Lorie P. gave us recently!

New words:

- boat (see above)

- church (though it comes out more like "T-ch"

- hot

Things that make her smile:

- playing peek-a-boo

- being flipped upside down

- "If I Were A Butterfly"

- dogs

- Daddy

Answers

So the nurse says it is stomatitis (I had her spell it for me), and it should go away on its own in 5-7 days, although the web site says 10. Looking back, I remember now that I noticed a little red granule on V's tongue maybe 5-6 days ago, which has since developed into what looks like a double canker sore. Poor little thing - I'm glad she's eating as well as she is, all things considered. Tonight she ate a lot of green peas, and some applesauce with pureed spinach mixed into it. Thankfully she's been drinking plenty of water. The nurse said the main thing is to head off the dehydration. And she's still nursing plenty. So we just have to wait it out.

Gums

This morning I noticed that V's gums around her top and bottom front teeth were all inflamed and red. I took a toothbrush to her teeth and INSTANT BLOOD - oh so sad! I googled "toddler bleeding gums" and it came up all about gingivitis and taking her to to the dentist. But B. thinks it's all about the teething. She (V) also has two cold sores on the tip of her tongue.

POOR BABY!

No wonder all she wants to eat is yoghurt, applesauce, mushy peas, oatmeal, and mama's milk. And her usual morning egg yolks (hard boiled).

I feel so bad about nursing her to sleep and not brushing her teeth better. She is getting two new bottom teeth and we've been putting Orajel on them, which has definitely helped her sleep better since Saturday. I'm pretty sure the redness/bleeding is new as of this morning. So maybe it will pass quickly as well.

Anyone else have experience with this?