3 Sevens

Well, obviously, we haven't been 3 Sevens for awhile now, and it's about time I acknowledge this fact with a new blog. So here it is: Ellie and Fiffy Ann. Bookmark it, because I'll be posting there from now on, not here. See you there!

Haha! It's funny the stuff that you don't find out until you've already done something dumb! Like last week I learned that nut butters shouldn't be kept for more than a couple weeks, even in the fridge (this is pure nut butter, of course, not the hydrogenated stuff). The week before I had fed 2-month-old (at least) almond butter to Ariel. Today we had a lunch that included hummus. I thought it didn't taste quite the same as before, so I just looked it up. 1 week max, apparently. This stuff was 3 weeks old at least. And yet, she's still alive. Say a little prayer for our stomachs as I venture further into the realm of unpreserved foods! I really think this stuff should be printed on labels more often...

Probably my greatest culinary failing thus far has been smoothies. Every time I try to make one, it turns out tasting funny. At least I think it tastes funny - maybe I'm not supposed to be comparing them to Jamba Juice?

Anyway, my SIL suggested I change yogurt brands, so I did, and today I tried making a smoothie from strawberry-flavored Mountain High Yoghurt, fresh blackberries, vanilla, milk powder, a little milk, and a little ice. It turned out ok. Dan says it would have been better with honey, but it was too late, plus I was trying to deny my own sweet tooth. I tried giving some to Ariel in a sippy cup, but, not surprisingly, it wouldn't go through the little holes. So I took the lid off and gave her a straw. Then, after watching her try to use the straw like a spoon, her daddy thought she would have an easier time with a bowl and spoon. The results?


I think she looks like an unshaven Alec Baldwin. The resemblance was clearer in person. Not only does she have a little mustache and goatee, she even has a tie!

So, healthy or not, my daughter is NOT ready for smoothies, because I'm not ready for the mess. She went straight to the bathtub, where we put a bath fizzy in the tub that she got as a gift (coincidentally, also from my SIL). Well, seeing a ball fizz under the water and make orange bubbles was apparently a very traumatic experience, and Ellie went from nervous whining to outright crying. She was too upset to stay in the tub, so we washed everything but her hair. Oh, well!

I said I'd post it, so here it is...


And, also for your viewing pleasure:



I'd say she's completely warmed up to him. At first it was 100% Mommy, but now I don't think there's much favoritism going on apart from when she wants to nurse. She naps on his chest almost every day, and they often fall asleep together at night and then I take her when she wakes up to eat. Very sweet!

I was told this many times while pregnant, and it's definitely true:

Having a new baby makes your older baby seem HUGE!

I know she's actually a petite little thing, but every time pick Ariel up, I can't believe how heavy she is. And every time I change her diaper, I can't believe she's not potty trained - darn it!

I swear she's learning a word a day at least. It seems like whether she learns a certain word quickly and retains it well is largely dependent upon whether it is advantageous for her to do so. Take the following:



Notice how she's almost bossy? It's all I can do to keep her from running the house instead of me! Sometimes I think I fail at that...

One thing she's been bossy about lately is how she eats. She has to have what we have, and in the way that we have it - that is, with all the same dishes and utensils. Breakfast is cereal in a bowl with milk and a spoon. It's messy, but it could be worse. We keep a sheet under her chair. The messiest food, it seems, is yogurt.



You may have observe the evidence of what she HAD been doing and refused to re-create for the camera: frosting her English muffin and pieces of cereal with yogurt. Where does she come up with things like this??? Anyway, I only give her yogurt now when I plan to give her a bath. We also gave her a glass for the first time a couple days ago. I bought a set of small glasses at Ikea on Wednesday ($1.99 for 6 - how is that possible?), and she did a great job of drinking juice out of it without spilling! She was so proud of herself! Of course, after she downed two glasses of juice and wanted more, we switched her to water, at which point she threw a fit and smacked the glass down onto her plate (which is made of Corelle, a ceramic-type material). Fortunately, nothing broke, but we'll have to be careful to take away breakables before she gets too upset in the future.

On to more pleasant developments. In the past couple days, Ariel has learned a very special phrase:



She has volunteered this once to each of us, which, naturally, completely melted our hearts!

Sorry I don't have any new pics of Felicity. The fact is, she doesn't DO anything. She just lies there, eyes closed, milk dripping from her mouth. Maybe I should get a picture of that. Okay, I'll get a picture of that and post it next time. Sound good?

So, Ari-Ellie seems to be doing a great job adjusting to the presence of her little sister. At first, it was one big emotional breakdown after another. Between spending two full days away from us and getting less attention once we got home, Ariel was a wreck. She sobbed and she screamed and she demanded and she buckled her knees anytime we tried to lead her anywhere. Dan looked at the budget and decided to stay home on Monday, to give her one more day to adjust with both of us, and the result was wonderful! By the end of the day, she seemed to be acting far more normally far more of the time. At one point, Felicity and I left for a couple hours and Dan just played with Ariel. I think she really benefited a lot from that time.


So Tuesday was our first day home without Dan. Mom came over for a good chunk of the day, and Felicity actually let Mom hold her (this was Felicity's first day letting anyone besides me hold her for more than a few minutes, Daddy included). I was free to take care of Ariel, and having me do things for her seemed to help Ariel further. Something that had really been upsetting Ariel over the weekend was if she asked me for something ("cup?") and I said, "Ask Daddy."

Wednesday was busy, but nice. Mom dropped by for about half an hour in the morning, and then RaeAnn and Juli came over with their girls for about an hour and a half, I think? I wasn't watching the clock. At one point, while everyone was playing happily, RaeAnn said to Juli, "We need to get out of here; the girls are about at their limit." I questioned this, but I shouldn't have. about 3 minutes later, all the girls were crying or being cranky at once. The older 3 recovered pretty quickly, but Ivy was still sobbing a little as they made their way out the door. And of course, as soon as they started putting their shoes on, Ariel started getting upset - she had had so much fun playing with them! All in all, it was a very, very fun visit, for moms and kiddos, and I think we need to do it again. Hear that, ladies?

Later in the day yesterday, my lovely friend Navi came over with her almost-one-year-old, Luna, and they hung out for a few hours (Ariel and Luna swapped sippies and bottles and Ariel ate most of Luna's snack - oops), and then my dear friend Mary brought us dinner, so all in all we had 9 people come over yesterday. Dan got home, I tried to serve up some lasagna onto a plate, it spilled, and I burst into tears. Dan asked, "What's wrong?" I hate that question! I don't know! Nothing! Leave me alone! The lasagna's wrong, isn't that enough? After thinking about it, I realized that it was just the complete lack of down time yesterday. I don't regret having anyone over - it was so much fun - but I'm glad to have this morning to regroup before any more visitors come.

So, anyway, back to the girls, who are what I was SUPPOSED to be posting about! This morning, I got Ariel up and put her on the floor, and she immediately said, "Beeps?" and ran into the living room with her head cocked to look for her baby sister. "Beeps" is her word for "baby," by the way. I said, "Ariel, the baby is in Mommy and Daddy's room," and she turned around and headed in there excitedly to offer kisses.

She loves to "share" her sippy cups and snacks - this morning she insisted on sharing her cereal and muffin with the Beeps. She has to hold the food real close to Felicity's mouth, and then either Ariel or I will go "numnumnum" and smack our lips, to indicate that the baby is eating. Then Ariel says "Ticks!" (thanks) and takes a bite herself. SO CUTE! She hasn't behaved aggressively toward Felicity at all (we've had a little bit of rough play, but it was innocent enough), so that's really positive. I think maybe she's young enough that she doesn't fully understand that the lack of attention she is receiving is the baby's "fault." She's more mad at us, which is just fine with me. She's not capable of inflicting any serious injuries upon me, whereas I've heard several new baby-sibling horror stories.


So that's how things are going so far. To schedule a baby viewing of your own, give me a buzz! ;-)