Ada has one great guilty pleasure. Not candy, or binkies, or even running around naked. All of those she gets really really excited about, but all of those things she could live without if forced to. Ada's one guilty pleasure is her baby signing time DVDs. She LOVES these, well actually just volume 1 as this is the one that she requests all the time. She will be playing in the living room or her bedroom and then all of a sudden, she'll get up, grab one of our hands and lead us back to the office, walk over to the Mac desk, and motion violently that she wants up. And if you don't lift her up, immediately, she throws a little fit. Once on the desk she will situate herself so that she has her legs out in front of her under the monitor and her face about 3 inches from the screen. She has even started to figure out how to put the DVD into the Mac Mini so she can get her 'Bebe' - she says this as she does the sign for baby - there is no way you can resist when she does this.
Her baby signing time is the only time she will sit still for more than two seconds, and I'm not really sure it is any better for her than watching TV. I try to convince myself that because she is actually learning and she wants to watch educational programming she is just extra driven when it comes to her education. But really, I think I'm starting to raise a desk potato with an unrelenting work ethic. Now I'll just sit back and wait for her future bosses to thank me.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
deep in the heart of Texas
We took a zip in and zip out trip to Dallas for one of the Theta Xi guys wedding this past weekend. It was great to see all of Elliot's friends and the wedding was beautiful, not that Ada noticed, she spent the entire ceremony looking at the latest entry into the Theta Xi family - little Lila who is about a year younger than Ada. She was mesmerized by the little fingers and the little toes, and well, all of the little stuff.
This was just the start of the excitement for Ada. After the ceremony she discovered the most amazing thing about weddings. They are followed by these big parties, in a big room, with lots of music, and many many people who think little girls running around in cute dresses are the most adorable thing EVER. Needless to say, Ada thought the whole party was for her. She spent the first hour of the cocktail reception greeting all of the guests (or running around smiling at them and laughing as she ran away). As the night wore on she started to get more and more bold and by the end of the night she had even worked up the courage to ask a perfect stranger for a dance (he accepted). By the end of the night it was apparent that Ada had maintained her celeb status in the Theta Xi world.
All in all it was a successful trip to Dallas, a bit short, but I have a feeling that Ada will always have a special place in her heart for Texas.
This was just the start of the excitement for Ada. After the ceremony she discovered the most amazing thing about weddings. They are followed by these big parties, in a big room, with lots of music, and many many people who think little girls running around in cute dresses are the most adorable thing EVER. Needless to say, Ada thought the whole party was for her. She spent the first hour of the cocktail reception greeting all of the guests (or running around smiling at them and laughing as she ran away). As the night wore on she started to get more and more bold and by the end of the night she had even worked up the courage to ask a perfect stranger for a dance (he accepted). By the end of the night it was apparent that Ada had maintained her celeb status in the Theta Xi world.
All in all it was a successful trip to Dallas, a bit short, but I have a feeling that Ada will always have a special place in her heart for Texas.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
most fun ever
Last night we did our usual Monday night dinner at the Ott house. Each week Ada becomes more and more comfortable, and is spending less and less time in our arms and more and more time running around.
We usually spend a little bit of dinner eating together and then one by one the kids will get up to go play while the adults get to finish eating and have some real conversations about what is going on in our lives. Well, until recently, it was the adults and Ada. She was perfectly content to sit on our laps and listen to the conversation around her. Well the last few weeks she has started to join in the kiddie fun. She'll still stay at the table a little longer than Eric and Maia, but once she notices that Maia is running around in her princess shoes, or Eric is jumping off the coffee table she scoots her little bum off of her chair and RACES to join them. Last night the kids did several laps around the core of the house and the look on Ada's face said it all. "I never want to leave, I never want to stop running, I'M HAVING SO MUCH FUN!!!!" And just when I started to believe that she would never stop running around she hit the wall. She had exerted all of the energy she had, and she was DONE. So she climbed up into my lap, put her head on my shoulder, and rested. Until she saw Eric jumping again and she forgot that she was out of energy and like a bolt of lightning shot out of my lap to join him on the couch.... Ahhh to be 1 again!
We usually spend a little bit of dinner eating together and then one by one the kids will get up to go play while the adults get to finish eating and have some real conversations about what is going on in our lives. Well, until recently, it was the adults and Ada. She was perfectly content to sit on our laps and listen to the conversation around her. Well the last few weeks she has started to join in the kiddie fun. She'll still stay at the table a little longer than Eric and Maia, but once she notices that Maia is running around in her princess shoes, or Eric is jumping off the coffee table she scoots her little bum off of her chair and RACES to join them. Last night the kids did several laps around the core of the house and the look on Ada's face said it all. "I never want to leave, I never want to stop running, I'M HAVING SO MUCH FUN!!!!" And just when I started to believe that she would never stop running around she hit the wall. She had exerted all of the energy she had, and she was DONE. So she climbed up into my lap, put her head on my shoulder, and rested. Until she saw Eric jumping again and she forgot that she was out of energy and like a bolt of lightning shot out of my lap to join him on the couch.... Ahhh to be 1 again!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Me me me me...
It is inevitable, when babies grow into toddlers, they decide they want to be part of adult conversations before their parents realize that they want to be part of adult conversation. Most toddlers will scream, bite, hit, and umm ... scream to get their parents' attention, which is understandable, they can't really talk and as parents we are conditioned to respond to this negative behavior.
As a family we spend A LOT of time together in the car, and somewhere in the last month or so Ada has decided that she wants to be part of most of our conversations. Especially when we are going over our days, she always has something to say about each of my meetings, and every new PowerPoint Elliot is working on. This could be bad. Could be, if Ada was like most normal toddlers. Now don't get me wrong, she does her fair share of screaming, and hitting, and sitting in the naughty corner; but in the car, she has developed a new plan of attack - she laughs. If we have not tried to bring Ada into the conversation for an extended period of time she will just start laughing. And laughing, and laughing. It starts out as a real, genuine laugh; but it quickly turns to a fake, cocktail party laugh. This development makes me happy not only because she is not screaming, and hitting, and ummm ... screaming during our long commutes, but also because she is proving at a very early age that she has what it takes to be a mover and a shaker.
As a family we spend A LOT of time together in the car, and somewhere in the last month or so Ada has decided that she wants to be part of most of our conversations. Especially when we are going over our days, she always has something to say about each of my meetings, and every new PowerPoint Elliot is working on. This could be bad. Could be, if Ada was like most normal toddlers. Now don't get me wrong, she does her fair share of screaming, and hitting, and sitting in the naughty corner; but in the car, she has developed a new plan of attack - she laughs. If we have not tried to bring Ada into the conversation for an extended period of time she will just start laughing. And laughing, and laughing. It starts out as a real, genuine laugh; but it quickly turns to a fake, cocktail party laugh. This development makes me happy not only because she is not screaming, and hitting, and ummm ... screaming during our long commutes, but also because she is proving at a very early age that she has what it takes to be a mover and a shaker.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
couldn't be more proud
Last weekend we attended a birthday brunch for Katie Michelmore, one of my best friends, and one of Ada's favorite none blood related aunties. We don't often get a chance to dress up these days so I seized the opportunity to put Ada in a dress. She looked beautiful. So girly and pretty. I often forget how pretty she is when she is covered in a collection of mud, ketchup, and cheerio crumbs, but last Sunday she was down right stunning. Well as stunning as a 1 year-old can be.
She fussed with the dress a little when we first put it on, but then seemed to get used to it. All through brunch she even managed to keep the dress clean, but the dress could not hide the little adventurer that Ada is becoming. After we finished eating, Ada and her cousin Taylor took off and found a crate of oranges to play in, but to get to that crate they had to navigate down a small set of stairs. If you can be pro in stair climbing, Taylor would be a top tier pro while Ada would still be struggling in the minor leagues, waiting for her big break. So Taylor cruised down the stairs and Ada, anxious to follow, wanted to hurry. But she also remembered her tumble down the stairs at Eric's house so she turned around to scoot down backwards. This would be fine under normal circumstances but since she was in her pretty dress she was presented with a whole new set of challenges as her dress kept getting caught on the step just above her little body. The first few times the dress snagged she grumpily stopped her descent to grab the dress and put it back over her belly. Finally after doing this routine three steps in a row she stood up, throwing caution to the wind (giving Mommy a heart attack), balled up her dress and tried to stuff it between her legs. You could almost see her little brain churning, thinking, I'll show this dress who is boss. At that moment I realized just how much of my daughter she is, and Beta, I couldn't have been more proud.
She fussed with the dress a little when we first put it on, but then seemed to get used to it. All through brunch she even managed to keep the dress clean, but the dress could not hide the little adventurer that Ada is becoming. After we finished eating, Ada and her cousin Taylor took off and found a crate of oranges to play in, but to get to that crate they had to navigate down a small set of stairs. If you can be pro in stair climbing, Taylor would be a top tier pro while Ada would still be struggling in the minor leagues, waiting for her big break. So Taylor cruised down the stairs and Ada, anxious to follow, wanted to hurry. But she also remembered her tumble down the stairs at Eric's house so she turned around to scoot down backwards. This would be fine under normal circumstances but since she was in her pretty dress she was presented with a whole new set of challenges as her dress kept getting caught on the step just above her little body. The first few times the dress snagged she grumpily stopped her descent to grab the dress and put it back over her belly. Finally after doing this routine three steps in a row she stood up, throwing caution to the wind (giving Mommy a heart attack), balled up her dress and tried to stuff it between her legs. You could almost see her little brain churning, thinking, I'll show this dress who is boss. At that moment I realized just how much of my daughter she is, and Beta, I couldn't have been more proud.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
she really loves me
We recently took a trip to Las Vegas for a hockey tournament. Elliot ended up flying out the day after our caravan drove out so Ada and I had a nice casual morning together at the hotel. She was sleeping in the same room as me so when she woke up she was able to just stand up in her pack-n-play and see me, awake, but still in bed. So instead of starting to cry, she started to giggle which of course enticed me to go over and pick her up. However I was still tired so we just crawled back into my bed. This hasn't worked in about 3 months but I thought I'd give it a try, and to my surprise she actually agreed to hang out and play with me. Ada has also really started to show that she understands what we are saying to her, which makes life with a semi-non talker so much easier.
So while we were enjoying our morning, lounging in our Vegas hotel room I asked Ada for a kiss. A fairly common request but usually one that is either ignored, or fulfilled with a blown kiss or a smoosh of her face into mine but no real kiss. Well this time Ada had a treat in store for me. She leaned forward and gave me a real kiss on my left cheek, paused, and then began to smoother me in kisses all over my face and neck. After 17 months of loving unconditionally, this sudden outburst of affection melted my heart and really made me realize the rewards of all of the sacrifices that Elliot and I have made since our crazy decision to throw caution to the wind and make a baby. And then it dawned on me. I smother Ada with kisses on an almost daily basis. So it wasn't so much affection but learned behavior. I have learned that if I try to over analyze Ada's actions they tend to lose their initial coolness, so I immediately put that in the back of my mind. Because that feeling. The one when she was showering me with kisses. That was easily in my top five all time most amazing parenting moments so far. And that, I will treasure for years to come.
So while we were enjoying our morning, lounging in our Vegas hotel room I asked Ada for a kiss. A fairly common request but usually one that is either ignored, or fulfilled with a blown kiss or a smoosh of her face into mine but no real kiss. Well this time Ada had a treat in store for me. She leaned forward and gave me a real kiss on my left cheek, paused, and then began to smoother me in kisses all over my face and neck. After 17 months of loving unconditionally, this sudden outburst of affection melted my heart and really made me realize the rewards of all of the sacrifices that Elliot and I have made since our crazy decision to throw caution to the wind and make a baby. And then it dawned on me. I smother Ada with kisses on an almost daily basis. So it wasn't so much affection but learned behavior. I have learned that if I try to over analyze Ada's actions they tend to lose their initial coolness, so I immediately put that in the back of my mind. Because that feeling. The one when she was showering me with kisses. That was easily in my top five all time most amazing parenting moments so far. And that, I will treasure for years to come.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
easiest drop off ever
Whenever I drop Ada off at daycare she completly melts down. Not a simple bit of clinging to my leg, or trying to get me to play with her. Nope. She screams bloody murder as I walk out of the room. Her teachers like to point out that she only does this when I drop her off, not when Elliot does. In fact they have even gone so far as to ask who would be dropping her off the next day so they can mentally prepare for her meltdown if need be. I could choose to think that she is just trying to make my life difficult, but deep down I know it is because when she rides to daycare with just me she has this secret little hope that maybe, just maybe, this is the day that I ditch work and hang out with just her. That would be the coolest thing in the whole world. Well today we had a very tight morning. We dropped Elliot off at work in LaJolla, I had to get Ada to daycare, and into work by 9 AM for a meeting. Shouldn't have been a problem if we left on time but that doesn't seem to be in the cards these days so it was pretty tight and I think Ada sensed that. On the way to daycare she was so well behaved I almost thought she had fallen asleep, and then when got to daycare she secretly pledged to not melt down on me. She even walked into her classroom by herself so I didn't have to strain myself under her pixie weight. When we got to her room I braced myself for the death grip on my legs, the tears, the wailing, the urgent demands of "up, up". But they never came. Ada's little gift to Mommy today was the easiest drop off ever. She walked into her room, looked up at me, smiled, and then walked into the room like she owned it. She didn't just want to let me off easy, she wanted me to feel Ok about it too. Still in a bit of awe I staggered to the sign-in table, filled out her paperwork, put her lunch in the cabinet, kissed her goodbye (still no crying or reaching out), and walked out the door happy that I have a well adjusted little girl who is confident and comfortable. Either that, or she really wanted to get rid of me so she could start flirting with all of the boys in her new classroom.
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