Some lovelies from this week

We were at work on Tuesday, and I was crouching, stocking diapers on the lower shelves. Charlotte walked up to me, hugged my side/back, and said (for the first time) "I love you." <3

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Friday, we were enjoying my day off at home, snuggling on the couch when she said "Mama give you kiss." I did, then a few minutes later I gave her another one. She looked at me, and then very deliberately wiped the kiss off. I feigned offense, of course. a few minutes later, she asked again "Mam give you kiss." I complied, she looked up at me, grinned, and wiped it off again.

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Saturday, she approached me, saying "Want some milky." (She's recently begun calling nursing "milky" instead of just "milk", though I'm not sure why.) I said, "You want some milky now?" Her response? "Want some milky always!"


(Background: for several months now, she's had this nursing quirk where she wants to put her fists in my armpits while she nurses. It used to just be a preference, but now she always has at least one hand in one armpit every nursing session. I'm beginning to think the armpits are just as comforting as the milk.)

Saturday night she told me again "Want some milky!" I repeated "Want some milky?" She replied "Milky and arma-tits!"

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Story time!

Charlotte just told me what I believe is her very first make-believe story.

"Went to the ... diamond store!"

"You went to the diamond store?!"

"Uhhuhyes. [All one word.] Went to the the diamond store."

"What did you do at the diamond store?"

"Umm...had coffee. Went to the diamond store had coffee."

"You had coffee at the diamond store?"

"Uhhuhyes. Aaaand a carseat. Sit in a carseat had coffee."


This is the abridged version, partly because there was a lot of repeating in this story and partly because I forgot how exactly it went after those first couple exchanges. But you get the gist.

<3

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Super early but...

I had a coupon about to expire so I ordered up some birthday invitations! Hooray. :)

<3

We just had our first cooking lesson on Charlotte's current favorite food: scrambled eggs. She was cool through the egg cracking and pouring inthe "cowmilk" but got pretty confused once we stirred them up and poured them in the pan. "Scrambled eggs hiding?" Then, when they had cooked enough to be recognizable "There they are! You found 'em!" ♥

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some recent gems

Apparently I tell Charlotte quite often that she looks grown up. It seems I do it most when brushing or otherwise referring to her hair. The other night I had showered and was laying in bed with damp hair, which Charlotte finds fascinating. as she was stroking my hair, she looked at me very earnestly and said "Mama. So grown up."

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We do a lot of counting things in English and Spanish, and more recently, letter-sounding and naming. We see a word like "Kite" and I will say "kuh-ih-tuh-eh" the "k-i-t-e, kite." Almost any time she sees a word she'll shout "letters!" (This makes car rides interesting.) And sometimes if she's interested in hearing what the letters say or are, she'll tell me "Count 'em. 'Panish."

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Today at work, she climbed on to the big couch, wrapped herself in a throw blanket, and said, "Doing some snuggle-upping!"

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Also at work today, she brought me a small toy truck (about softball-sized) that looks like a small version of our friends' non-working Power Wheels car that she loves to "drive." She told me "In it. Ma' help you." I looked and nothing was in it, so I asked her to tell me again, to make sure I heard right. She repeated "In it. Ma' help you." I asked her what she wanted me to help her put in it. Her almost immediate response was "Tushie."

When I told her it was too small and she was too big to sit in the truck, she took it from my hands, set it on the floor, and attempted to fit her foot inside. :)

Dream big, kid.

Yesterday was Labor Day, and we all laid in bed cuddling for a bit before getting up for the day. I asked Charlotte what she wanted to do all day, since Daddy was home. Her answer? An enthusiastic "Laundry!"

The Family Name

This morning at breakfast, we were playing one of Charlotte's favorite games. I say "Charlotte Sara Adkins," she giggles, and says "Gan!" (again) and we do it over and over. After she got bored with her own name, we did the dogs. After a couple times of "Linus George Adkins" and "Lucy Lu Adkins," Charlotte's eyes lit up and she exclaimed "Daddy Adkins!" :D

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Teeth

Charlotte's tooth count is sitting squarely at 8. Maybe 9. Or possibly 10. She definitely has two bottom front teeth, two top front teeth, and her top lateral incisors, plus her bottom two one-year molars. She's been working on the top one-year molars, and there are definitely some points that have broken through, if not the whole tooth yet. But she skipped right over the bottom lateral incisors and top and bottom bicuspids. But that's okay with me. The longer they're in the guns the better chance they have at health.

I wasn't ready to blog about this until now, but I feel a little more in control of the situation, so here we go.

A little over a month ago (June 9) we went to see a pediatric dentist, because I was concerned about some spots on Charlotte's top lateral incisors. She has decay. Not just on the lateral incisors, either; her front teeth (what are those called? do they have an official name?) have beginning signs of decay as well. Jeff and I both have weak enamel on our teeth, and consequently lots of tooth problems/cavities through the years. The dentist, who was very nice and let me hold Charlotte while he examined her, didn't outright blame the decay on nursing, but he did say it was a "largely contributing factor" and that we might want to set a goal for weaning, for the sake of her teeth.

I disagree. Breastmilk is designed for human babies/toddlers/kids, and [I]my[\I] breastmilk is designed specifically for [I]my[\I] child. I cannot imagine thy nature/evolution/God (whatever tour belief system is) would design something that would rot teeth.
So, I thanked the dentist for being respectful enough to not demand that we wean, but I also didn't agree to set the goal of weaning by x date.

Our options, he told us, are to basically do nothing, or to have a costly and painful surgery to repair the teeth. she would need to be put under general anesthesia, because she is so young, and the teeth would need to be filled and capped. However, because of her age and the fact that the teeth are not all the way in, they would need to slice into her gums to get the caps places properly.

Obviously, neither of these solutions are ideal. We chose to go with Option C: Other.

After doing a good bit of research, digging in to what actually causes tooth decay (it's way more than sugar sitting on your teeth, FYI), and talking with a new friend who has actually healed her kids' tooth decay, we've got a much clearer picture of what Option C looks like. We'll be going on a pretty strict nutrition protocol, which involves grass-fed meat, especially organ meat, bone broth made from whole chickens, pastured eggs, lots of green vegetables, limited fruits and very few grains/starches (for example, no flour unless we grind it ourselves immediately before using). Oh, and a mixture of butter oil and cod liver oil, which Charlotte loves. It's got cocoa in it, and has the texture of pudding, almost, and she loves having "chockit" every day.

We'll also be adding in some pretty hefty probiotics, brushing teeth with Pascalite (a natural clay powder,) and taking a couple kinds of cell salts, which are basically minerals found in your cells, but the ones we're taking are almost always lacking in people with tooth decay.

At first, I thought I was going to have to quit my job to keep up with all of this. And it is going to be demanding, especially at first. But we're easing into it, and surviving. We'll start the nutrition protocol very soon, possibly this weekend. Its mostly a matter of being organized, and I just keep telling myself that it'll be worth it. If it doesn't work, at worst we'll be out a little money and a little time, at best, it works and we won't be out any teeth. :)

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Charlotte had a really cool communication moment tonight. (6/19/11) I was putting something away in the freezer, and she must have seen the box of fruit juice popsicles. "Pa-corn!" she said. (Popcorn is one of her new obsessions, and it's not unusual for her to ask for it randomly.) I told her that we didn't have any popcorn, that it was all gone. "Pa-corn!" she insisted. "Appa jus pa-corn!" When I asked if she wanted a popciscle, I could see on her face that she was proud of herself for communicating what she wanted even though she couldn't remember the exact word. She looked at me like, yes, that's right, and said "Pa-kick-sul. Appa jus pa-kick-sul."

My kid is cool. :)

I know everyone says this but...

It's really true for my kid. ;) She is a genius.

Yesterday, she was standing next to me while I worked. she touched my leg and said "Mama." Then she turned around, saw the reflection of my legs in the mirror behind me, pointed at those legs, and said "Two mamas!"

Genius.

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"Dancin' "

We went to a dance recital tonight for our friends' daughter Aurora. We had to leave at intermission because of Charlotte, but not for the reason you think.

We snagged an aisle seat in case we had to duck out if she got fussy. Aurora was in the second group of dancers, and for the next couple of songs Charlotte kept saying "Rora! Rora!" when each group came out. She was a little freaked out by the dark and the loudness of the applause (what she calls "fives") between each set of dancers.

By the middle of the first act, she was bouncing along on my lap and saying "gan!" ("again") and "moah!" ("more") each time the lights went down.

By the last song in the act, she was in the aisle, dancing, grinning like a fool, and trying to pry my hands off of her so she could run up and join the girls on the stage.

We got out of there at intermission because I was certain she'd be screaming by the middle of the second act if I didn't let her get up there and do some "dancin' ".

I guess I'll be calling some dance studios tomorrow about some toddler & mama dance classes.

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Allergies

Today, we saw Charlotte's pediatrician about potential food allergies. For the past six or seven weeks, she's been alternating constipation and diareaha (sorry, Future Charlotte reading this and most likely saying "Mo-om! I can't believe you put that on the Internet!"), and has had dermatitis all around her mouth, and last night she broke out in hives while drinking a mango-orange-apple-banana-lemon juice smoothie. So today we saw the doctor and she referred us to a pediatric allergist, since we haven't been able to notice any sort of rhyme or reason to the flares. Our appointment is in two weeks, at 8:30am. Charlotte doesn't ever get up that early, plus she be subjected to a two hour appointment with tests, results, and a doctor consult. We'll see how it goes.

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Secrets

Charlotte had her first "hiding things from mama" moment today. :(

She found a Sharpie marker, and a gift card, then went behind the curtain at work. She opened the Sharpie then proceeded to scribble all over the card, and only a little on her fingers. I pulled back the curtain to check on her (she hides back there often) and she looked at me with the "Busted!" face. I took the Sharpie, and we were both pretty upset. She because I interrupted her picture making, and me because now she's old enough to be keeping secrets. From me!

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Charlotte's Spring/Summer Wardrobe 2011

I know I've been sucking at the monthly snapshots. I'm working on it, really.

A message board I belong to does these "Wardrobe Posts" each season, and it's really fun, and a good way to document/remember the clothes that I'm sure will be components of my memories of Charlotte.

Sweaters:

Pink & green argyle cardigan (Old Navy, but bought at Just Between Friends--a huge kid's consignment sale), blue pocket cardigan--I LOVE this sweater! (The Children's Place outlet), white with pink & brown polka dots (Carter's, the last of the baby shower gifts), purple shrug (TCP -- gift from Aunt Jayna), white crocheted shrug (Old Navy--JBF), pink shrug (TCP outlet).

Sundresses:
Turquoise floral (ON--JBF), Navy blue w/ white flowers (gift from Mimi), white with turquoise & brown paisley & beaded straps (ON--JBF), red handkerchief print dress (ON--JBF), yellow/orange/pink dress (TCP--JBF).


Cream w/ multi-colored floral (ON leftover from last fall), rainbow stripe dress (Carter's--gift from Mimi), white w/ bright flowers (Carter's--gift from Mimi)

Green & white sweater dress (Gymboree--hand-me-down from a friend,) Blue & turquoise jersey dress (ON--JBF), Cream sweater dress (H&M--last fall's JBF)

Skirts:

Purple & brown tiered skirt (Koala Kids--from a friend), Pink floral (ON--JBF), Light blue & pink tulle tiered skirt (TCP--outlet)

Shirts:
Spring is a chilly season in Colorado, so long sleeves are still necessary.
White jersey eyelet (TCP--outlet), blue embellished tunic with floral ruffle (TCP--outlet) and omg, I want one of these in my size!, pink floral tunic (Sonoma--JBF), purple & brown floral 3/4 sleeved (ON--JBF)
White w/ blue embroidery (Osh Kosh--outlet), blue w/ blue embroidery (Osh Kosh--outlet), white with purple & blue embroidery (Osh Kosh--outlet), white pintucked button-down (American Living--from a friend), pink floral pintucked button-down (ON--JBF)
Green, brown, & pink solid shirts (TCP--JBF), light pink w/ ruffles (TCP--outlet), white w/ keyhole (ON--JBF), navy blue with puffy sleeves (Osh Kosh--outlet)
Pink Floyd navy blue tee (gift from Uncle Neal), Lil' Tree Hugger tee (gift from a friend), Whooo's the Cutest? Cheyenne Mtn Zoo tee (souvenir from Mimi for Charlotte's 1st zoo trip)
Brown swing top with white detail (babyGap--from a friend), white swing top with yellow embroidery (babyGap--from a friend), pink swing top (ON--JBF), green floral swing top (Carter's--gift from a friend), pink tunic tank (ON--JBF)

One-pieces:
I'm not usually into sunsuit/romper-type of things. But this first one is a super soft brushed cotton, and the plaid one reminds me so much of my childhood best friend, Kelsie.
Blue floral sunsuit (Gymboree--JBF), and navy plaid romper (Osh Kosh--outlet).

Shorts & Capris:
Patchwork bright-colored bermudas (TCP--JBF), denim shorts with d-ring belt (ON--JBF), yellow knit shorts (babyGap--from a friend), brown gauchos (ON--JBF), green & white striped capris (Osh Kosh--JBF), brown cargo capris (ON--JBF), white lace trim capri leggings (TCP)

Pants:
(Holy exposure, Batman!) white lace-trimmed leggings (TCP--outlet), 3 pairs of jeggings--the only kind of "jeans" Charlotte can wear! (all TCP--outlet), purple lace-trimmed leggings (a gift from one of Jeff's employees)

Dresses with leggings:
Purple floral with lime green leggings (Carter's--outlet), purple bubble dress with striped leggings (Osh Kosh--outlet), navy floral with pink leggings (Carter's--outlet)

Bonus toddler feet!

Brown, green and coral dress with coral ruffles (Espirit--consignment shop), Trees & birds with matching pants (Birthday gift made by the incomparable Lindsey!), Brown dress with ruffles & flower accent with yellow ruffle leggings (Genuine Kids--JBF)

Things that don't fit neatly into a category:
Brown overalls with pink flowers (Gymboree--eBay. I bought these in 3-6 mos at last fall's JBF, and loved them so much I scoured eBay and snagged this pair,) and hand-knit sweater bought by Auntie Sara.

Easter Outfit:
Outfit from TCP Outlet. Shoes will depend on the weather.


Shoes:
Pink floral Robeez, brown & pink peacock Robeez (both birthday gifts from Aunt Rachel), owl Robeez-knockoffs (Etsy--bought for her birthday outfit), blue & pink flower sandals (a gift from Jeff's boss), straw sandals with orange flowers (Koala kids--JBF) brown & straw sandals (Circo--JBF), Polka dot tennis shoes (JBF), handmade Robeez style shoes (made by Lindsey, part of b-day outfit), Brown toadstool maryjanes (Gymboree--JBF)

Hats to come, when I round them all up and get a photo.

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January Snapshot

January 2011

Age: 11 months

Milestones this month:

• January 1: Took first unassisted single step. Repeated once more that day and a few more times on the following days.
• January 2: Two new teeth (top left incisors). Asked to go "nigh-night" by repeating "nigh-night" over and over and over while we were out late at a friend's house.
• January 9: Pointed to her belly when I asked "Where's your belly?"
• January 13: Picked up phone, put it to her ear, said "Daddy!" and proceeded to babble for several minutes.
  
• January 14: Let my friends Dani, then Molly, hold her for several minutes in a crowded sushi restaurant. (It may not sound like it to you, folks, but this is big news. Charlotte doesn't let anyone but Mama & Daddy hold her. Like, ever.)
  
• January 17: Signing "milk" as universal sign for "I want it." Began signing "please," "more," and "water," when prompted.
  
• January 18: Officially walking: walked across a room, from daddy to mama (9-13 steps--I don't know exactly, I was too excited to count properly!) in a room full of witnesses. Signing "more" and "please" unprompted.
  
• January 21: Pointed to nose when I asked "Where's your nose?" Began saying "biaper" (diaper).
• January 28: Walked from house to car holding Daddy's hand.
  
• January 30: Repeated "love you" and made her version of the "I love you" sign, multiple times.

Other words & skills in her repetoire: "buh-bye"; waving; pointing; "that" usually said when pointing; "uh oh"; shrugging, palms up, usually when she's dropped something, is looking for something, or is trying to ask what something is; "Lola" (her bff); "pup" (puppy); "woo-woo-woo-woo" when she hears dogs barking; shaking her head if you tell her "no, thank you"; attempting to put on/get in one of the baby carriers.

(I'll be editing to add more pics as soon as I get them uploaded.)