Sunday, April 29
Monday, April 16
Alright, let's take a moment to breathe a collective sigh of relief:
*Ahhhhh*
We have our laptop back! For those of you who didn't know or may have forgotten, our laptop computer was stolen last June, and with it all our video and nearly all our pictures from the first 3 months of Ariel's life. Needless to say, it was devastating.
Having all your pictures of your child stolen feels a lot like a kidnapping. During the first couple of days, there were times when I had to go in during the night and look at Ariel asleep in her crib, just to remind myself that I still had HER, that they hadn't actually taken my little girl. After desperate calls to the police and pawn shops and after giving all my neighbors blank CD's and begging them to leave my pictures under my doormat if they found out who had them, I finally let go.
Two months later, we got a call from our insurance company: our computer had been found at a pawn shop. But... even though it was at the pawn shop, it was now legally in police custody, which meant that, in order to get it back, we would have to get a policeman to get a prosecutor (if there WAS a prosecutor) to decide if it was evidence, and if so, could we have it in the meantime, and if not, they would have to fax paperwork to the pawn shop releasing the computer to us, but first we would have to pay for it, or perhaps sue for it in a court, or even both. The past many months have been a series of conflicting and confusing explanations of what had to happen, and unreturned phone calls to Portland Police.
But, on Friday, we finally were able to go down to the pawn shop with an insurance representative and buy back our laptop (which was fine, since our insurance had already bought us a new computer). Obviously, it's been hard to know what to hope for over the past 6 months, since we had no idea what might have been done to our hard drive after it was stolen. Would everything be gone? Would the thief have worked hard to remove any trace of us? Would even our most computer-techie friends be able to retrieve anything?
Well, let's just say this: the only program our thief had downloaded was Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing! Most of our pics were still in their folders, and the rest of the pics and all our videos were in the Recycling Bin, which this person apparently didn't know enough to empty! Dan was able to restore all the pictures and video, enabling me to share with you some of the pictures that we have waited and hoped so long for:
*Ahhhhh*
We have our laptop back! For those of you who didn't know or may have forgotten, our laptop computer was stolen last June, and with it all our video and nearly all our pictures from the first 3 months of Ariel's life. Needless to say, it was devastating.
Having all your pictures of your child stolen feels a lot like a kidnapping. During the first couple of days, there were times when I had to go in during the night and look at Ariel asleep in her crib, just to remind myself that I still had HER, that they hadn't actually taken my little girl. After desperate calls to the police and pawn shops and after giving all my neighbors blank CD's and begging them to leave my pictures under my doormat if they found out who had them, I finally let go.
Two months later, we got a call from our insurance company: our computer had been found at a pawn shop. But... even though it was at the pawn shop, it was now legally in police custody, which meant that, in order to get it back, we would have to get a policeman to get a prosecutor (if there WAS a prosecutor) to decide if it was evidence, and if so, could we have it in the meantime, and if not, they would have to fax paperwork to the pawn shop releasing the computer to us, but first we would have to pay for it, or perhaps sue for it in a court, or even both. The past many months have been a series of conflicting and confusing explanations of what had to happen, and unreturned phone calls to Portland Police.
But, on Friday, we finally were able to go down to the pawn shop with an insurance representative and buy back our laptop (which was fine, since our insurance had already bought us a new computer). Obviously, it's been hard to know what to hope for over the past 6 months, since we had no idea what might have been done to our hard drive after it was stolen. Would everything be gone? Would the thief have worked hard to remove any trace of us? Would even our most computer-techie friends be able to retrieve anything?
Well, let's just say this: the only program our thief had downloaded was Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing! Most of our pics were still in their folders, and the rest of the pics and all our videos were in the Recycling Bin, which this person apparently didn't know enough to empty! Dan was able to restore all the pictures and video, enabling me to share with you some of the pictures that we have waited and hoped so long for:
Wednesday, April 11
Whine, whine! We want posts! Drama! So, when I post, why does no one comment? Huh? Am I just supposed to sit here talking to myself, blindly trusting that someone is reading, to keep anyone from popping up to complain? I need feedback!! Geez!
Saturday, April 7
So, yesterday, Dan was reading aloud to me from his Economics textbook (which was much more interesting than it sounds). Ariel was playing in the living room, and she came and plopped down in the middle of the floor with a couple of her books, turning the page of one book and then the other. After Dan stopped reading for a moment, Ariel started hollering loudly, varying her tone and volume. It took us a moment to realize: she was reading aloud! Dan managed to grab the camera without her noticing:
Ariel is learning body parts. She can't SAY any of them yet, but she responds to (by pointing, etc) nose, mouth, chin, forehead (sometimes), and tummy.
We're working on teaching the princess not to throw sharp-edged books in our faces, slap us, or grab daddy's glasses. If anyone has any suggestions, please advise. Sometimes she responds well, but other times she gets upset and starts swinging harder. I think it's just an emotionally difficult concept for her - it's upsetting that she has to limit the ways that she plays.
Princess Number 2 is growing quickly and starting to affect my back and posture, as well as making sleeping more difficult. It's depressing to think that I still have 4 months to go! Pregnancy is definitely my least favorite part of having kids!
Ariel is learning body parts. She can't SAY any of them yet, but she responds to (by pointing, etc) nose, mouth, chin, forehead (sometimes), and tummy.
We're working on teaching the princess not to throw sharp-edged books in our faces, slap us, or grab daddy's glasses. If anyone has any suggestions, please advise. Sometimes she responds well, but other times she gets upset and starts swinging harder. I think it's just an emotionally difficult concept for her - it's upsetting that she has to limit the ways that she plays.
Princess Number 2 is growing quickly and starting to affect my back and posture, as well as making sleeping more difficult. It's depressing to think that I still have 4 months to go! Pregnancy is definitely my least favorite part of having kids!
Wednesday, April 4
It's a....
GIRL?
A very modest girl. The technician says she's sure. The obstetrician says it's more likely to be a girl than a boy, but really uncertain. So we're gonna keep the pink stroller and car seat, and if it turns out to be a boy then he can just be embarrassed for a few days. Woohoo! My princess gets a little SISTER! I'm jealous!
Ariel spent the ultrasound sitting in her daddy's lap eating snacks (chis! chis! [cheese]) and watching mommy get prodded. She also spent a good deal of the time pulling her shirt up and showing us her little tummy, apparently since mommy was doing the same thing with HER tummy. It was VERY cute!
We're both glad to be having a little girl, although there's a certain amount of let-down as we let go of the idea of redecorating with cars and trucks and sports stuff and all the blue that would otherwise be beginning now. We don't want to stop with two kids, though, so we should get a boy out of the mix before all is said and done. For now, I want to focus on ways to make this child's visit unique, maybe switching out a few things so that everything she wears and has wasn't her sister's first. I think that's important.
Ta-ta!
GIRL?
A very modest girl. The technician says she's sure. The obstetrician says it's more likely to be a girl than a boy, but really uncertain. So we're gonna keep the pink stroller and car seat, and if it turns out to be a boy then he can just be embarrassed for a few days. Woohoo! My princess gets a little SISTER! I'm jealous!
Ariel spent the ultrasound sitting in her daddy's lap eating snacks (chis! chis! [cheese]) and watching mommy get prodded. She also spent a good deal of the time pulling her shirt up and showing us her little tummy, apparently since mommy was doing the same thing with HER tummy. It was VERY cute!
We're both glad to be having a little girl, although there's a certain amount of let-down as we let go of the idea of redecorating with cars and trucks and sports stuff and all the blue that would otherwise be beginning now. We don't want to stop with two kids, though, so we should get a boy out of the mix before all is said and done. For now, I want to focus on ways to make this child's visit unique, maybe switching out a few things so that everything she wears and has wasn't her sister's first. I think that's important.
Ta-ta!
Tuesday, April 3
Growing a Reader
There is one practice which everyone seems to agree is essential for good child-rearing: you MUST read to your baby, preferably every night, from the time they are mere infants. I can't tell you how many people have asked me, out of the blue, when discussing Ariel, "Now, are you reading to her?" Then they launch into a lecture. "It is SO important to read to them REGULARLY - EVERY DAY if you can. It helps foster reading skills for their whole life! Blah blah blah...."
Now, don't get me wrong, I think reading to your baby is a really great idea. It just requires a cooperative baby. Ever since she was big enough to squirm and fuss (forever), Ariel has been quick to express her annoyance when we have sat down to read to her. Some people have said that I just need to make her sit there and get used to it, but I didn't want her first impressions of books to be "those things that Mommy holds me captive for and makes me endure." That didn't seem like a good way to foster a reader to ME.
Well, about a month ago, maybe a little more, Ariel started taking an interest in books. At first, it was an interest in Daddy's books, which tended to get her in trouble, because she would pull a few of them down from the bookshelf and proceed to be less than careful with those delicate pages. Her favorite book of Daddy's soon became his Poker book, a spiral-bound book full of pictures that illustrate how to be a good poker player, which Dan's dad gave him when he moved to Thailand (along with many other random things that he couldn't take with him). She would just sit and read that book forever, turning the pages excitedly and pointing at the pictures.
Within a week, her interest had shifted to include her OWN books. She would go to the bookshelf and pull them all down (really, all 20 or so), then go through and turn pages, looking at pictures and occasionally squealing with delight. Typically, she did this while Dan and I were reading our own books or the paper. It was precious! Sometimes, we would pick up one of the books and try to read to her, but she would either start turning the pages every 2 words or just walk away. Still, we were pleasantly surprised that she had become a little "reader."
Well, about a week and a half ago, she decided that she wanted Mommy and Daddy to start reading TO her. She'll walk up to us with a book, shove it in our lap or face (ouch! corners!), and either stand there to listen or tug to be pulled up in our laps. At least half of the time, she listens through the entire page before turning it. Well, at first I was enthralled! She wanted to be read to! How wonderful! But now....
How many times in one day can I be made to read "The Wheels On The Bus"? I don't even LIKE that song! She has three song books, all of which have those spinning wheels that make the pictures move, so they hurt your fingers after awhile. She'll bring one over and insist that it be read at least 10 times! GAH! You can distract her for maybe 2 or 3 minutes with other toys, if you're lucky, but then it's "gook! gook!"
Dan jokingly suggested today that maybe we should hide her books for a couple days, for sanity's sake. I feel like a terrible mom for being tempted, but it sounds like a really nice idea. Although the books are less exhausting than chasing her out of bathrooms and away from garbage bags and the dishwasher, some of these books are pure mental torture when repeated. Probably the only one that I still enjoy reading is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. This really is a fun book. If you're looking for something to read your little one without going crazy in the process, I would recommend it whole-heartedly.
Well, that's it for now. Tomorrow we find out whether Ariel is having a little brother or a little sister! Woohoo!
There is one practice which everyone seems to agree is essential for good child-rearing: you MUST read to your baby, preferably every night, from the time they are mere infants. I can't tell you how many people have asked me, out of the blue, when discussing Ariel, "Now, are you reading to her?" Then they launch into a lecture. "It is SO important to read to them REGULARLY - EVERY DAY if you can. It helps foster reading skills for their whole life! Blah blah blah...."
Now, don't get me wrong, I think reading to your baby is a really great idea. It just requires a cooperative baby. Ever since she was big enough to squirm and fuss (forever), Ariel has been quick to express her annoyance when we have sat down to read to her. Some people have said that I just need to make her sit there and get used to it, but I didn't want her first impressions of books to be "those things that Mommy holds me captive for and makes me endure." That didn't seem like a good way to foster a reader to ME.
Well, about a month ago, maybe a little more, Ariel started taking an interest in books. At first, it was an interest in Daddy's books, which tended to get her in trouble, because she would pull a few of them down from the bookshelf and proceed to be less than careful with those delicate pages. Her favorite book of Daddy's soon became his Poker book, a spiral-bound book full of pictures that illustrate how to be a good poker player, which Dan's dad gave him when he moved to Thailand (along with many other random things that he couldn't take with him). She would just sit and read that book forever, turning the pages excitedly and pointing at the pictures.
Within a week, her interest had shifted to include her OWN books. She would go to the bookshelf and pull them all down (really, all 20 or so), then go through and turn pages, looking at pictures and occasionally squealing with delight. Typically, she did this while Dan and I were reading our own books or the paper. It was precious! Sometimes, we would pick up one of the books and try to read to her, but she would either start turning the pages every 2 words or just walk away. Still, we were pleasantly surprised that she had become a little "reader."
Well, about a week and a half ago, she decided that she wanted Mommy and Daddy to start reading TO her. She'll walk up to us with a book, shove it in our lap or face (ouch! corners!), and either stand there to listen or tug to be pulled up in our laps. At least half of the time, she listens through the entire page before turning it. Well, at first I was enthralled! She wanted to be read to! How wonderful! But now....
How many times in one day can I be made to read "The Wheels On The Bus"? I don't even LIKE that song! She has three song books, all of which have those spinning wheels that make the pictures move, so they hurt your fingers after awhile. She'll bring one over and insist that it be read at least 10 times! GAH! You can distract her for maybe 2 or 3 minutes with other toys, if you're lucky, but then it's "gook! gook!"
Dan jokingly suggested today that maybe we should hide her books for a couple days, for sanity's sake. I feel like a terrible mom for being tempted, but it sounds like a really nice idea. Although the books are less exhausting than chasing her out of bathrooms and away from garbage bags and the dishwasher, some of these books are pure mental torture when repeated. Probably the only one that I still enjoy reading is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. This really is a fun book. If you're looking for something to read your little one without going crazy in the process, I would recommend it whole-heartedly.
Well, that's it for now. Tomorrow we find out whether Ariel is having a little brother or a little sister! Woohoo!
