Part of what I love about the girls' names is that they were both popular 100 years ago and many people with those names are now great-grandmas. Both names evoke a vision for me of sweet old ladies rocking away together on a porch. I pray Ella and Sadie will live meaningful lives full of love and will be enjoying each other on a front porch somewhere many years from now.
When I started grad school and had some time driving there by myself, I started listening to podcasts and have become quite addicted to a few over the last 3-4 years. One that I NEVER miss is a comedy, news quiz show from NPR called "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me." It's so funny and a sort-of decent source of news each week as well! I found out they were going to be taping the show live in Baltimore last month and searched all over for tickets but it was sold out. I was so bummed!
However, on the day OF the show, I checked ticketmaster and craigslist one last time and ticketmaster had tickets!!! I consulted Chris, prayed we'd find a babysitter last minute, and we bought them!
Since we bought them last minute we were sure the seats would be poor but they were AWESOME. We were in a box with 3, comfy, swiveling, velvet armchairs and no third person! Just us! We were looking right over the stage. Couldn't have been more perfect.
It was so much fun to see how they produce the show and to see some of the "voices" I hear all the time! And Mo Roca, one of my favorites, was one of the panelists (it rotates weekly)! The celebrity guest was John Waters who was there in person and as a fixture in Baltimore, was interviewed for much longer than they needed for the show. He was such a character! We were also really impressed with Peter Segel, the host, in person-he managed to be really funny on the spot and entertain the crowd as well as do everything needed to keep the radio show going (he reads all the questions from an ipad on the podium in from of him).
Great experience and made me love listening to the show every week even more!
Sadie-lady is blossoming! So much is happening with her...
*She had her 9 month appointment exactly on her 9 month-iversary (birthday?) and her stats were good! She was 17lbs 12oz (32nd percentile) and she was 60th percentile for height. I was shocked with all her cute-chubby rolls that she's not even at average for weight! She's staying on her curve though and the doctor is pleased :-)
*In motor skills, she's a champion when it comes to fine motor skills-her pincer grasp is awesome and she's been feeding herself cheerios for a couple months now.
*As far as gross motor, she's a bit of a late bloomer like her sister which is fine by me. In the last 2 weeks she's figured out how to scoot in circles and backwards on her stomach but is still not crawling. I'm sure it'll come :-)
*Like Ella also, she loves to stand and much prefers it to being on her tummy. As we learned with Ella, this means nothing about walking early! (Ella didn't walk til 16 months!)
*Sadie is very social and loves interacting with people. She's definitely had some separation anxiety over the last month or two and has only stayed in the nursery at church once for an entire service in the last 2-3 months. Certainly not as independent as Ella was but she seems to be coming out of this phase and goes to other people more often this week than last. She sure loves mama though :-)
*Schedule wise, Sadie generally wakes around 7, naps around 9:30-11ish and again from 2-4ish. She heads to bed like Ella, between 7 and 8pm. We had a WRETCHED period a few weeks ago where she got her first teeth at the same time she was having a growth spurt and for a few weeks she was waking up 2-3 times a night. Because she was legitimately hurting or hungry for the first week or two I got up and nursed her each time but then it just became a pattern. Every night I'd think I'd stop feeding her or send Chris in but just couldn't bear listening to a baby who is usually SO happy cry her eyes out. So I'd give in and feed her. After some encouragement from playgroup moms I decided to stop feeding her during the night (she'd been going all night without food for MONTHS!) and bite the bullet. Waking 2-3 times a night was not doing anything good for her or for me so it was time to stop. As I knew deep down would happen, it just took 3 nights of her crying and me comforting but not feeding her and she has been sleeping all night since. Sleep training sucks but is totally worth it.
*Those blue eyes haven't faded a bit so we'll see if she keeps them or not! People comment on them all the time. Both of our grandmothers have light hair and blue eyes so maybe she takes after them!
*Sadie loves her food. She's still nursing 4 times a day (7, 12, 4, 7) and eats 3 meals and sometimes some snacks. She likes pretty much anything we give her and I've been much quicker in introducing table food than I was with Ella. At each meal Sadie usually eats a bowl full of fruits, veggies, or yogurt (with cereal mixed in usually) and some table food-she's tried bananas, chicken, beef, breads of all kinds, peaches, pears, and I'm sad to say, shes tried hot dogs and french fries too :-)
*Sadie seems to be more interested in communicating than becoming mobile. Last week, clear as day she started saying "all done" after eating while signing it. She will not do it on command or consistenly but she's said it many times now. It surprised me every time! She seems so little to be talking! We also had her saying "Are we there?" last week when we were driving. Craziness! She hasn't said "mama" yet and doesn't quite seem to associate "dada" with Chris but she definitely says "Ella" pretty often :-)
*Along with this desire to communicate, I'm sad to report, she has just started shrieking when she wants something (usually food). I'm SO not a fan of the shrieking phase. Maybe it'll be short-lived, here's hoping.
*Though there have been moments of irritability (so I now know she's capable of being imperfect) Sadie is still a very happy, sweet baby. It's been fun to see her really start to interact knowingly with the world and people. For instance...
*if she wants a toy that's out of her reach, she'll slap the ground or table or bed next to the object to get it to bounce her way-so smart!
*she recognizes the words "clap" and "dance" and will usually do them on command
*she LOVES to "dance" whenever music comes on! I must take a video. It's so cute how she starts to bounce her little body around and wave her hands!
*Our sleep routine has become nursing or snuggling in the chair in her room and then I carry her over to the light switch, she reaches out and pushed down the dimmer to turn off the light and immediately lays her head on my shoulder (have I mentioned I prayed for a snuggly child for years???-this MELTS my heart every single time!), I sing to her and sway in the dark for a while and then lay her in her bed, tuck her in, press her gloworm, hand her her favorite stuffed animal (Penuin-y) and she smiles, hugs the penguin and I walk out. For the most part, she goes right to sleep after this. We are SO blessed.
I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting but suffice it to say, we're all hopelessly in love with this little one and excited to see all she's blossoming into as she grows. If only she'd slow down a little so i can savor her babyhood a little longer!
The last few years my side of the family has combined our Easter and Passover celebrations into one day (which my sister dubbed "Eastover"). We had a good time discussing the gratuitous violence in the Easter Play at my parents church (SO not my style of celebrating Jesus' resurrection, from now on we'll visit my parents church for less Mel Gibson "Passion of the Christ" style services). Ella also got to meld her Jewish and Christian heritages by searching for the affikomen (matzoh you hide for passover and get $ for when you find it) and hunt for Easter eggs, all within an hour. It was also Ella's first time reciting the 4 questions (one of the parts of the Passover ceremony) which is supposed to be done by the youngest child. Growing up, that always fell to my sister but this year she read it outloud and Ella repeated it after her. I think my grandmother can now die happily, seeing her heritage passed on to this generation :-)
So, this is actually Mother's Day. Oops. Oh well. Same location, a few weeks later :-)
Reading the 4 questions
My grandmother couldn't resist buying this cake for Ella and she clearly got a kick out of it
Ella was caught green-handed with some green chocolate bugs :-)
For at least nine months now, Ella's been taking Ballet at the local YMCA. It's a low pressure setting and I really like her teacher, Ms. Sandra who has been teaching Ballet for 20+ years. Every time the 8 week session ends they have a little recital at the end of the last class to show us what they've been working on. It's cute to see all the little girls with various skill levels and attention spans dance for us :-) And they include us a little at the end as well.
With Chris' side of the family I decided to host Easter Dinner at our house. Ella REALLY wanted to have an Easter Egg Hunt so this was a good way to meet her request. It went really well! As you will see in the pictures, Nancy bought beautiful dresses and suits for all 6 grandkids! We had LOTS of people which I will list here for my own remembering...(which I don't do well sans lists)
Phil, Nancy, Jean
Dave & Julie
Amy, Matt, Hannah, Christopher
Andrew, Ping, Silas, Eva, Lao-Lao, Lao-Ye
Matt D
Liz, Connor, Sam, and Sophie Nixon
I'm in love with this shot of Sadie Amy captured. Beautiful!!
It started POURING about 5 minutes after the mad dash for the 90 or so candy filled eggs the dads hid in the yard
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So happy to have Ping's parents visiting from China for a few months!
Chris' grandmother loves getting time snuggling Sadie
I "caught" Christopher and Sam (who just met that day) sitting in Sadie's room reading her board books and giggling-so cute!
On Mother's Day we were able to participate in Baby dedication at our church. We were able to publicly dedicate ourselves to raising Sadie in the love and knowledge of God. It was great to have lots of friends and family there-it meant a lot to us to feel support as we start this parenting journey for a second time (this time having a better idea of what we're getting into!) And Lord knows, we can use His help and the prayers and support of his people.
Our cheering section! 3 rows strong!
Post dedication. Sadie is getting so big! She's 9 months old here.
Attempting to get a good pic is rough but I almost enjoy the crazy-reality pictures more than the perfectly posed ones.
Sadie has been nicknamed "the hair monster" because she is constantly pulling hair, especially Ella's
A few weeks ago I received an invitation that looked like a Hawaiian shirt and asked me to please join Ella's Pre-school class for the Mother's Day Luau! This is an annual tradition at her pre-school so this is our 3rd luau :-) I happily got a babysitter to come take Sadie, borrowed a Hawaiian Sarong from a pre-school mom-friend and off to school we went!
The kids sang for us and then each child gave their mom one of the leis they were wearing
Then we feasted on fruit kabobs and brownies the kids had put together
Ella and her best buddy, Sophie
Sophie and her mom Liz, a great friend of mine :-)
The silly side of the girls doesn't take long to emerge :-)
Limbo!
Not sure which kid knew about congo lines but this went on for quite a while
I'm loving the advent of things like Groupon and Living Social and Certifikid. I get emails or check the websites and find all kinds of awesome local deals! This deal was the best things I've found so far. It was a date for 2 that included dessert, wine, and a painting lesson with all the materials and a professional artist! I surprised Chris with this evening out and it was better than I could have even imagined. We LOVE doing unusual, creative dates and this was perfect for us!
When we arrived at the Washington Design Center (which looked awesome to explore sometime) we entered a room where there were about 20 canvases set u on easles and a bunch of other couples. As we chatted with folks we discovered that most everyone found the deal online as we did and had little to no art experience. A bunch of like-minded people just looking for a fun night out!
We were soon offered dessert and our choice of wine (which was free flowing all night) and after we'd eaten and chatted a bit, our "teacher" for the night was introduced. She is an artist who has work hanging in the White House as well as many celebrity clients who have commissioned paintings by her-pretty cool! She was very laid back and didn't do much formal instruction but was available for advice and help as we worked on the project for the night-a still life of oranges. She had painted an example that hung in the front of the room. The woman next to Chris painted flying turtles but for the most part, we all tried our hand at creating life-like oranges with varying degrees of success. We had so much fun and I snapped some pics on my cell phone throughout the night. I would definitely recommend Uncork'd Art to anyone! I'd love to do this again.
That's me hard at work on the left and Chris' painting on the right
Some of our fellow classmates
That's our resident artist standing up pointing to the red painting
Chris making some finishing touches
Chris' finished product! Funky green oranges!
My finished "blood oranges" (which I've never actually eaten but see on cooking shows all the time)
