This year SP went as a leopardy cat for Halloween.  I made the costume from things we already had at home; the actual clothes were a hand-me-down onsie and matching pants.  Trick-or-treating was a blast.  SP loved walking around with her pumpkin basket, though she didn't or couldn't hold it up to get the candy.  She loved all the other kids who were out, and would yell Booo if she saw something 'scary' or would growl if she saw an animal costume.  I love that her tail dragged on the ground behind her. 

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And for the record...

The reprogramming of SP has worked, with minimal problems.  Hooray!  My next project is to start giving her one nap a day instead of two.  In all honesty, I thing this will be harder on me than it will be on SP.  *sigh*

We finally finished our Halloween pumpkin tonight.

  Do you like the owl?  We did it because SP can say owl and hooooo really well.

... and I'm getting ready for it now.  I've decided to start deprogramming SP's inner clock.  Her inner clock is set for her to wake up at 5:30 am nearly everyday.  Not such a huge problem now, but in a week or so 5:30 am will actually be 4:30 am.  SP waking up at 4:30 am nearly everyday will be a huge problem.  Here's my deprogramming plan:

1. start doing her daily routines (meals, naps, bathtime) one hour later than normal
2. put her down to sleep at 9:00 pm instead of 8:00 pm
3. pray to God that she sleeps through the night and wakes up around 6:30 or 7:00

We did this yesterday, and she went down to sleep no problem.  But then, she never has had a problem going to sleep.  It's the getting up that's the problem.  She slept until 6:00 am this morning.  Next week that will be 5 am.  I am really, really hoping that by next week her inner clock will be reprogrammed.

Or is this just wishful thinking?  What about all you mamas and papas out there?  What have your tricks been in past years?  What do you plan on doing this year?

Date:        Saturday, September 27, 2008

Time:       Approximately 9:30 pm

Where:     Around the intersection of I-94 and I-75, off the highway on an old house

What:       Christmas decorations, all lit up

*sigh*

Did you have a special blanket, doll, or lovey when you were young? Do you remember how much you loved it?

SP received many blankets and afghans as gifts when she was born, most I couldn’t even tell you they are from. But there is one that she loves more than any other. We call this blanket LaLa.

LaLa is pink, smooth satin on one side and soft plush on the other. Contrary to popular belief, she prefers the soft plush side. SP loves to chew on it and rub it between her fingers. When she is tired, SP will rub LaLa under her nose (almost as if she is breathing in its goodness), pull it over her head, and then scrunch it under her cheek before she falls asleep.

LaLa is so much part of SP’s life that it has begun to become personified- LaLa prefers hugs from SP more than from Mama or Daddy. She likes to have sips of water fed to her from SP’s sippy cup. SP likes to give LaLa a turn on the pacifier. LaLa likes pieces of grapes mashed into her. LaLa likes to jump off of SP’s lap when we’re in the car and loves to fall out of the crib in the middle of the night. Oh, LaLa. She can be such a silly blanket!

SP loves this blankie so much that my mom cut it in half so that we would always have a spare on hand just in case. And there is almost always a “just in case situation” waiting to happen...

A few weeks ago SP and I were at the mall with our good friends Sarah and Jack on our usual play date. We were having a good time mall walking when I heard SP’s little voice say softly and with love, “LaLa.” I realized that I hadn’t checked on her in a while, so I peeked my head around the stroller only to find that there wasn’t a LaLa to be found.

Trying not to panic, but failing miserably, we backtracked our steps into the department store we had just come out of. No LaLa. I called K and without even saying hello I cried out, “I lost LaLa!” Both K and Sarah tried to reassure me that LaLa was in the mall someplace and we would find it. Didn’t they know how special LaLa was, how other toddlers were dying to get their little fingers on it?

We backtracked some more, into each store, with me asking if anyone had found a pink blanket. Blank stares and No’s were all I got back. Finally I stopped at the information desk. One last desperate plea for the beloved blankie. One lady shook her head sadly as she looked at SP. The other, with a hopeful ring to her voice, said that she didn’t have it there but she knew where it was. Holding myself back from grabbing her by her polyester lapels and shaking the information out of her, I waited for her to say that she had seen it around the corner near the bookstore.

That was enough for me. I took off at furious sprint, Sarah yelling at me to slow down, as her seven-month pregnant body wasn’t about to run through the mall. So we calmly walked toward the bookstore and sure enough, there was LaLa on the ledge of one the huge planters that are in the middle of the mall.

As we walked closer I could hear SP cry in her little soft voice, “LaLa” and watched her clap as her beloved blankie came into her view. She took it from my hands, rubbed it under her nose, pulled it over her head, and scrunched it under her cheek as we continued to walk around the mall.

K and I had a nice lazy day today.  After church and then dinner at my parents' house, we took the long way home so that SP could have a long nap.  (She isn't sleeping well at night due to three molars that are popping through.)  We took Jefferson Avenue for most of the way.  We passed factories (some that are currently used and many that are abandoned), Historic Fort Wayne, the Ambassador Bridge and all the construction around it, Joe Louis Arena, and the Detroit Waterfront, and Belle Isle. 

Belle Isle is one of my very favorite places in Detroit, mostly because I have so many fond memories of it from my childhood.  Knowing that the Detroit Grand Prix is this Labor Day weekend, we took a ride through the island.  There were a ton of families and groups there hanging out by the water, having picnics, and getting together for different activities.  We noticed that some (not all) roads have been paved, a couple new buildings have been built (bathrooms, I think), and work crews were cleaning up the Grand Prix area.  All the Grand Prix stuff was there- grandstands, banners, parking spots, and the race track.  We drove the race track, which was pretty cool.  I can't imagine going around the curves at 90+ mph. 

I'm glad I won't be going there for the actual races.  A)  I could not care less about racing.  B)  I like to avoid huge crowds.  C)  Did I say that I don't really like racing? 

Anyway, we spent about 45 minutes driving around looking at stuff.  It was a pleasurable and relaxing way to spend our Sunday afternoon.  I hope yours was just as nice.

Our 12 hour drive to Boston turned out to be more like 16 hours when you count in dinner, SP throwing up, and two one-hour nap breaks at service centers.  But, traffic was good and we didn't have any bad weather, so we are very thankful.  Other than having an upset stomach after dinner, SP slept from 10:30 pm to about 6 am.  Thank goodness!

• Saturday afternoon we hit the city with my sister G and my nephew J.  We took the Red Line on the META, SP played in the Duck Pond, we took a Swan Boat ride, she sat on all the ducks from the Make Way for Ducklings book, and we ate at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market Place.  In other words, we did all the right touristy things on Saturday!

Oh, how she loved getting on those ducks!

The Duck Pond was just her size.  Here she is finding every little leaf.

• Sunday was a beautiful warm, sunny, breezy day so we headed to Gloucester and Good Harbor Beach.  It was perfect.  SP is part mermaid, so she had a blast playing in the canal, finding seaweed in the shallow ocean waves, and diving headlong into the water.

• Monday we went to the Boston Children's Museum with my other sister and her two kids.  What a wonderful museum for kids!  Everything was interactive and hands-on.  I loved it.  Museum is hardly the word to describe all that it was.  We only got through two floors before SP fell asleep.  Maybe next time we'll be able to hit all the floors.

I think she's getting car sick.  That's her big cousin O driving.

And here they are grooving to the music and floor lights.

• Today is a very wet, gloomy day.  I think it's a great day to take it easy.  Nap time, anyone??

My niece got married yesterday and SP was one of the flower girls, along with my 3-year old niece O. My mom made the dresses for all the girls. And she made SP's and O's dollies matching dresses, too.

It went really well, flower girl-wise. O held the ringbearer's hand; as they started down the aisle, I told SP to go and catch them. So she ran down the aisle! It was great.

We tried the same procedure for the walk back down after the service. Only this time SP got halfway down, dropped her matching blankie, and ran back to me instead of to K. I think it made the whole wedding!

edited to add pictures

Here she is looking at herself with her headband on.  This is before the ceremony.  It doesn't look like it, but she really liked having it on.  At least for a while.

Here she is walking halfway back, right before she turned around and came back to me.

Here is the wedding party.  That's about as good a picture she took then.

Okay, this is probably pretty boring stuff for those of you without kids and those whose kids are grown up. Sorry about that.

SP had her 15-month check up on Friday. She is in the 75 percentile for height, but only a measly 12 percent for weight. The doctor is happy with her overall health, and so am I. It’s no wonder SP is so thin: she is always on the go- from the moment she wakes to the moment she sleeps, she just doesn't stop.

She is back to a regular sleep schedule, once again. While I am enjoying this time, I take it with a grain of salt as it won’t stay regular for long. Something will interrupt it - teething, congestion, growth spurt, traveling, whatever. I did ask the ped how much sleep she should be getting and was happy to hear that 10 hours at night and 2 or 3 hours in the day is common for her age. And that is pretty much what Sweet Pea is doing. And it's glorious right now that she is sleeping for ten straight hours, even if she does start the day by waking up at 6 am.  It could be much worse.

I am also happy that she doesn’t have to drink so much milk anymore. We had been giving her 24-32 ounces a day, but now that she’s eating a wider variety of solids, she only has to have 16-24 ounces. Hooray! I’ve already cut out two bottles, now giving her an eight ounce in the morning, letting her have more (6-8 ounces) in her sippy straw cup throughout the day, and then one more 6 ounce bottle at night. I’ll be slowly getting rid of the bottles all together, but getting rid of the two is a start.

Other than that, we’ve been having fun taking walks and playing in the kiddie pool & sprinkler. With weather like this, it’s the best thing to be doing on these lazy summer days.