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March 24, 2003
Vegas Baby, Vegas!!!
Jamie and I are going to Vegas!!!!! We have been talking about going for as long as we’ve been together (7 ½ years) but never got it together to actually go. But yesterday we booked the tickets so I guess this is really happening! Wa-hoo! I’m so excited. The only thing I am NOT excited about it leaving Ella. Every time I look at her sweet innocent face I feel guilty. Obviously not so guilty that I am not going, but still, pretty bad. We are going to be leaving her with my mom, who Ella is very comfortable with and loves, so I’m not worried about her care. Plus also my mom herself is a little nervous for Ella about five days with such a different schedule. So she is mulling over staying at our house for a few of the days (probably two) and dropping her off at daycare, just so she is going along on her ‘familiar’ routine. We will see, though. We aren’t going until May, after my classes end. Still, that is only two months away. I have to admit, I am pretty excited. I feel like a wild woman who is just going to throw caution to the wind and run away from all my responsibilities (after making sure they are well taken care of LOL). Stay tuned as details emerge….
Spring has Sprung!
Well the other great news, of course, is that spring is finally here. I have never been so ready to say goodbye to winter. I was actually on my hands and knees in our garden looking for crocuses and there they were 1/8 of an inch poking out of the ground. I’ve been taking Ella out every chance I get, for both of our sakes. Right now the ground is still very slushy and muddy, with random piles of old snow around, so it really isn’t ideal for a toddler. Ella doesn’t mind though, she goes right over to the slush and puddles and likes to plow right through them. Her first day at our local playground, she ended up falling twice. Once was her fault but the second time was when another little boy leaned over and gave her a big push off of a picnic table, right into a big cold slushy puddle. She started crying and I was pretty annoyed but bit my tongue, knowing that ‘this is how kids are’ and one day she might be the pusher and not the pushee (I saw her getting a good look at the offender). She was wet and muddy but all right.
Day Care Centers
I have been home on Spring Break this week. Some break—my activities have included doing our taxes, taking my car in to be looked at, and painting the bathroom. Well, I will admit that it feels good to get a lot accomplished, since Ella is at day care during most of the day. I have also been visiting a lot of the day care centers in the area. Right now Ella has a nice lady watch her at home. It is only Ella, the woman’s daughter, and two other kids and it worked out nicely when Ella was an infant but I am starting to think that she could use more stimulation and structure during the day, especially since she is going to need full time care in September when I start my program. Finding a good place is SO TOUGH though. I went through a lot of this two years ago when I was pregnant but am facing all the old problems, the money, the staff, the reputations of facilities and then the dreaded wait list. It really burns me up that most places charge $25-50 just to be on the wait list. I found one place that I love and that is perfect but I didn’t get the feeling they felt I would come up on the list in time for September. Today I visited a place that I liked and I put us on the list there as well. Truthfully, I don’t like it nearly as much but I did get the sense that there may be space so this may be it. My plan now is to take her out of the home program in May when I finish up my classes, stay home with her during the summer, and start her at a program in September.
Weekend at Grandma’s
Jamie went to Utah to watch basketball games for the weekend so, rather then be a single parent for five days, and since I was out of school, I escaped to the Cape to visit my mom (Ella’s Nami). We had a great time. Friday night we went to the Mall for family night (Ella said Mall for the first time). Ella’s favorite was definitely riding the carousel. She had this big proud grin on her face and an iron grip on the horse (I was also right beside her). She would grin at my mom as we went around but wasn’t waving for the life of her. They also had a story time at the bookstore. Ella was the youngest there and didn’t really listen to the story but was very excited and happy to be hanging out with all the big kids. Some other things we did with Nami over the weekend included Ella’s first time finger painting (she loved it but spent most of the time scooping paint onto the paper with a Popsicle stick), exploring outside down by the lake with the dogs, going for a walk around the cranberry bog, and playing with markers. My mom was more observant then usual about exactly how Ella likes to do things, in preparation for her big visit with her in May.
Jamie’s parents also live down on the Cape so we went to visit them too. We went for a walk, had lunch, and then went shopping. It has been very convenient for Ella visits to have both sets of Grandparents living so close together but Jamie’s parents have decided to move to Maine and will be doing so in June. We are very disappointed because not only will they be further away but they won’t be close to my mom so I know we will see much less of them. Jamie is the baby of the family and is devastated about the move. He always goes down to see them at least once a month and, with them moving about 3 ½ hours away, it is not likely he will be able to keep this schedule.
No!
Well, it was only a matter of time. Ella has learned the word No. Having heard story after story about the prolific use of this word by toddlers I’ve been trying my hardest to avoid using it around her too much, and thus having her pick it up. She has been shaking her head no for many many months but for some reason I don’t think that’s as bad. Well, probably since I haven’t used a lot of NO! with her, rather using “Let’s not do that” or “uh uh, we don’t want to go there” or “not right now sweety” instead of saying no, it’s No, no no no no. Is this the beginning of the end? Time will tell, I guess…
So, on that note, that will do it for this entry…
Thanks for reading!
Bonnie
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