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January 1, 2001
Funny girl
Ella is developing a funny little personality. Lately she has been telling us jokes. These primarily consist of pointing to a picture in a book that she knows well (Ernie or Big Bird, for instance) and labeling it incorrectly (Elmo!). Then she will look up at me with a sly little grin on her face and a twinkle in her eye like “Aren’t I just the funniest thing!?!?” It is too cute for words. Also the other day I asked her what the cat says (which she has known for months) and she kind of stammered when she answered, so it came out more like “Me-noooo”. When I told her what a goof ball she was she couldn’t stop saying it and was running around announcing “Me-NOW” to anyone who would listen. I can tell when she is about to say a ‘joke’ when she points to a picture and I can see her eyes gleaming and her mind racing to come up with a different word. I would say it definitely shows some word mastery to be able to play around with them like that. It’s fun to watch.
Day Care
So Ella started at the new day care last week. I know kids in day care get sick a lot more since they are exposed to more germs and Ella was off and running in that department. She started her first day with a cold that I think she got during her orientation visits and then had to come home Thursday (and stay home Friday) due to spiking a fever on Thursday. So we had to take MORE time off work/school, which is getting harder everyday since I was finishing classes up and getting ready for finals and Jamie has been falling more and more behind at work. I still love the daycare though. They are so friendly and have such a great variety of activities for the kids. They take them out everyday unless it’s raining, which Ella loves. J, her old provider, would never take them out if there was even a little mud from the day before. Ella has adjusted without a hitch to sleeping on a mat on the floor (she’s never slept anywhere but a crib). For Mother’s Day, they laminated a finger painting and a picture of her painting it along with a poem. It was so sweet, I know I will have it forever. We get a little progress report at the end of the day which is mostly just how/what she ate/ slept/ pooped but I just love getting them and reading them. And Ella is catching on to everything really well. When I take her out she will point to the eating area and tell me 'num nums' and will point to the hallway and say 'paygund'.
Mother’s Day
We had a GREAT mother’s day. Jamie started the day with a dozen roses and a very sweet card. Then we went into Boston, where every Mother’s Day they have a Duckling Parade. It’s inspired by the book “Make Way for Ducklings”, which is based in Boston. Basically all these parents dress their kids up as ducklings and they parade through Boston, ending up in the Public Garden near a statue of the ducks. And I have to say, some of these people get really elaborate and really elaborate. There was a little girl being pulled in a wagon that was made out to be a nest filled with eggs and ducklings. There was a troup of kids being pushed on a toy that had been make into a giant duck. A few of the kids had those huge duck umbrellas and were wearing yellow raincoats and boots. My favorites were the tiny babies with downy fluff all over them. We didn’t actually dress Ella as a duck but we did have her in a yellow outfit and we brought a duck hand puppet that she has. She was fascinated and kept yelling “Quack quack” at all the kids marching by.
We had a great picnic and then walked around the Public Garden, that was bursting with tulips and families enjoying the day. It was a beautiful day, with sunny weather but not too hot. Ella had a great time feeding her lunch to the birds and the squirrel, who are so domesticated they will come up to within a foot or so of you to beg for crumbs. Ella was fascinated to see these animals so close but would always eventually try to go after them and they would all scatter. Afterwards, we walked down Newbury Street (the chi-chi shopping area) for some more good people watching. Later in the day Jamie watched, bathed and fed Ella while I studied for finals. So really overall I had a great day. The duckling parade was definitely the highlight, though; we are hoping this will become a tradition…
DONE
And now I am done with all of my classes! I took my last final today for my prerequisites so I am foot loose and fancy free until my real program starts in late August. I am still very unhappy that I won’t be able to spend more time with Ella this summer, since she is going to be at day care. I still know it is great that she got into this center and it is best for everyone in the family but I am actually almost embarrassed when I think of all the free time I am going to have this summer, with no classes, no work and no baby… I feel lazy and like a slacker just saying it and immediately feel I have to tell the whole day care situation to justify myself. I have a huge list of home improvement projects that I have set up for myself, and I committed to help a neighbor out with (ironically) baby-sitting for much of June. All the same, I know myself and how lazy I can get with unstructured time and I don’t want to just putter away the summer and lose all this free time that I know I will be pining away for in the fall. I know there are probably a lot of people who would kill to have my problem but it really has been weighing hard on my mind.
One thing that I am NOT feeling nearly as guilty about, however, is VEGAS. I can’t believe we are leaving in only five days. I have taken much solace from the fact that Ella has been transitioning so well into the new day care so I think she will be fine with my mom for five days. Plus, I am sure I will be calling at least once a day.
Well, I guess that’s all for now… My next entry will be after the trip so I will let you know if we end up millionares or paupers...
Thanks for reading!
Bonnie
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