The Zoo!

We were supposed to take my mom to the Oakland Zoo for her birthday (which was in February, lol) but our trip kept getting canceled to due weather and such. With only one day a week to plan outings, it's hard to schedule stuff sometimes! But we finally went and had such a great time!

And so it begins, all the photos of my mom, Pam, and Makena. I really need to be better about making sure I'M in some photos, too!!

We got there as the gates opened and headed to the elephant feeding. There were no elephants at all in the enclosure though, but we saw the keepers setting out lots of food for them so we waited. Luckily the zebras were near by so Makena had fun spotting them! (Or, should I say...stripe-ing! Hahaha!)
Finally the elephants came marching in, and this one headed straight to every cabbage that was strategically placed to have him circle the whole perimeter so we could get a close look!

It was really fascinating, and the highlight of the day!

We saw giraffes, and Makena had her stuffed giraffe that Pam insisted we buy for her while I was pregnant.

Walking walking walking! We got a work out at the hilly zoo!

Hopping across the lily pads!

Makena touched a snake!
Play time!
Oh look, a silly photo of me pretending to be a turtle!

The lemurs were of course a huge hit, as Makena called out, "A boo!" for her Zaboomafoo.

At the gift shop, holding an elephant puppet while trying on an elephant hat, lol.

Makena sure got spoiled! GrandMo bought her a stuffed monkey, an elephant shirt, and a booklet to keep all her squished pennies in!

Putting her first penny into the book!

We headed home and Makena fell asleep during the drive, so Pam stayed in the car with her when we got home. They came in shortly after, and Pam told me she was still tired and to try nursing her in bed, so I did and Makena fell back to sleep. We were glad she ended up taking such a long nap, because Pam and I were going to San Francisco to see a show and my mom was watching her for the night. Makena woke up, we ate dinner then headed out. As the show was ending, I got a a text from my mom that Makena was asleep. We assumed she'd just stay up until we got home, but we arrived and found her like this-


My mom took her for a night time walk and after about an hour she finally fell asleep. Then she carried her upstairs in the stroller and put her in the bedroom. lol! Even more miraculously, when we transferred her to the bed she stayed asleep!

And that's that!

Pictures from the first half of August!

I realized the last couple posts haven't included any photos, and that's no fun! And then I realized I mostly take about 20 photos of each any every thing Makena does, so I end up with a lot of pictures that look really cute when viewed in sequence. I narrowed it down to 4 photos at the most for each day. :)

Helping GrandMo water the plants, and then watering the ground too.

Waiting for Mama to pick us up, showing off her cool shades and clutching her Minnie Mouse.

With her best buddies, Colin and Ian.

Hanging out at the park, and offering her orange to the lady bug on my finger.

Nursing!

At the park on a very hot day, first time climbing up the arch and so proud of herself, and just being super adorable.

Enjoying a little diaper-free time with her cute tush!

At the park passing time while Mama does a soccer class, many trips up and down the slide and then saying "all done" after riding the duck.

Up next, a post all about Makena's first visit to the zoo!!

(FYI: These photos uploaded in reverse chronological order, but I don't feel like fixing it.)

Clingy phase?!

Lately, like within the last week, Makena has started to be really clingy. At first she was just very whiney and we assumed she as teething. Getting her 2 year old molars ahead of schedule would suit her perfectly. But the last couple days she's just seemed SO needy and wants my full attention. Which she admittedly deserves, but it's easier said than done, lol.

I sometimes take advantage of the fact that she plays so well on her own. I can sometimes be on the computer (okay, Facebook.) for up to an hour while she's busy playing. I'm sure that sounds awful, but she's always been really great at entertaining herself. We basically spend our time at home in the living room, and that's where the computer is. So we are pretty much always within 20 feet of each other.

Anyways. I say that because lately she needs to be in my lap or touching me. At all times. She wants to do puzzles, color, read, play, eat...in my lap. This has been very frustrating at times. It's hard to go a full day without a little break. When I try to walk away she asks for milk and cries. I feel like it's strange behavior for a child who spends pretty much 24/7 by my side. And she's so shy all of a sudden! She wants to sit on my lap and hide in my shoulder until she warms up. She never used to do that. Yesterday we were sitting and doing a puzzle and Donte jumped up into the window sill in the kitchen. He knocked something over, and Makena got totally spooked, she practically jumped into my lap and was crying and stayed whimpering for about an hour. She kept glancing at the kitchen and then would get scared again. It was the first time I've ever seen her be really terrified, and it was breaking my heart! At the same time it was so sweet how much she clung to me, I felt like a real mom. lol.

We went to a new playgroup today and she was super shy and wanted to sit with me for the first 20 minutes or so. Eventually she couldn't resist the new toys and sand table, but she kept wanting me to come over to where she was playing and asking me to play with her. Her recent "Ah MA ah MA!" that she yells gets old real fast. Basically it means, "COME OVER HERE AND DO THIS WITH ME RIGHT NOW!" And when I try to redirect her or say I'll join her in a minute she immediately asks for milk and cries. I don't know what's going on, but I miss my happy outgoing little one!

So, I'm hoping it's just a phase and she'll snap out of it soon.

Learning Life

A friend of mine had a blog named "Learning (insert her sons name here)", but she changed it to "Learning Life." I think it's perfect. So far in this parenting adventure I'm learning so much more than just what animal sound Makena can say this week. I'm learning some really huge life lessons as well.

I think one of my favorite things about being a mom is the learning that happens every single day. I learn so many things that I never realized I would need to know. Simple tips to make daily tasks simpler: Put socks on Makena before putting her pants on because it makes it easier to get her feet through the holes when her toes don't stick. And bigger things like how I have to work constantly to be her advocate. I take my job as Makena's mother very seriously. I don't make decisions without being as sure as I can. I love the feeling of reaching a point where I feel confident that I've made the right choice. Whether it's about a safety issue or what to feed her for lunch!

I'm learning a lot about myself in this process. The journey of parenting changes daily with everything life brings. I feel like I've signed up for this lifelong course in self-discovery. Sure I was learning about life before I had a baby, but I think you can't quite explain the personal growth until you've been there. I'm sure the same is said for people who survive through a traumatic ordeal together. There's something special about shared experiences. I think just being in the mom club has catapulted me into a new level of life that I didn't really know existed. And in a way every day is a chance to start over and fix the mistakes of yesterday. I'm truly loving this ride. Bumps and all.

And there are definitely bumps. There are many things I swore I'd never do when I had kids someday, from pacifiers to TV in the car. (Or TV period, but alas, what can I say, we are a TV family.)

People say having a baby changes everything. But I feel like for me it's more accurate to say "Having a baby changed everything about how I view the world." Time is a huge part of that. I just don't have the sort of time I used to have. Makena is napping now, and I'm choosing to sit at the computer and type this. I could do some laundry. Or sweep the kitchen floor. Or make phone calls. But I can't explain why those things would take SO much more effort. I'll attempt to...

Makena doesn't nap or sleep very soundly. She's asleep right now, but I have to have the video monitor on and glance at it every few minutes, because she tends to wake every 30 minutes to an hour. I have to keep an eye on the time, to gauge when I think she might stir, in order to figure out if she's slept long enough or if I should go nurse her to sleep again. I can sit at the computer and easily do those things. I cannot take a shower in that time. I've tried, twice. Both times it ended with me rushing out and laying down dripping wet to nurse her back to sleep. I sometimes bring a load of laundry downstairs, but I can't take the monitor with me (guess we should have gotten a hand held unit after all, lol) and I rush and worry about her being alone for those few minutes. Plus, what if there's an earthquake?! But I've already posted about my crazy anxiety...

And, right on clockwork, she's waking up. She's only been sleeping for 32 minutes, so off I go to soothe her back to sleep!

Favorite Things at 1.5 Years Old!

In no particular order, these are a few of her favorite things!

She's always loved the water so much. We got her this little cheap water table from Walgreens and she could play with it all day, dumping the water back and forth between cups. She loves bath time. She loves the pool. She even loves drinking water. lol.

Telling Donte to get down or stop eating something he shouldn't have. "No no no no!" in her very high pitched voice. She also loves giving him treats, and sometimes she'll get her pretend tea set treats and try to give them to him.

Swinging at the park!
Zoboomafoo! Or, as she says "Boo!" It's an old (1999-ish) show about a lemur and he comes to life (turns into a puppet that talks) after a healthy snack. It's live action, which is my favorite type of kid show, and I find each episode to be totally interesting so I love to watch it with her! They have different animals on the show and the two (adult) brothers who host the show are funny and silly. I just placed a winning bid for a stuffed Zoboo doll on ebay, and Makena is going to be SO excited about it!! She also loves seeing the lemurs at Happy Hollow.

Sitting in boxes! (And first emptying them)

And standing in things!

Goldfish crackers! Sometimes I have to hide the box because if she sees them it's like her life can't go on until she has them in her mouth. Other food faves are black olives, beans, and broccoli. And lately strawberries.
Coloring! This is a fairly new obsession of hers. She is constantly asking to "Da! Da! Da!" (draw) as she frantically waves her finger in the air. I love that she will happily sit and draw, flipping through the pages of her Sesame Street coloring book and oohing and ahhing over all the pictures until deciding one to color. Today she found a picture that Pam had colored in of Bert, and she was clapping her hands at it. She was totally impressed. lol. Sometimes she asks for us to trace around her hand, and sometimes she asks us to do it 18 million times.

Buzz and Woody! Also known as "bus" and "dee!" She makes the sign for bus when talking about Buzz, which is so adorably funny. So now I've been trying to say BuZZZ, lol.
Running! And wearing hats! (But not necessarily at the same time.) People seem to still be shocked by how well she runs and how steady she is, but she started walking so early that she's been running for what feels like forever!

Makena's #1 favorite thing in the whole wide world? Nursing/milk/me. Without a doubt. I asked Pam what she thought Makena's favorite thing is and she said "You" lol.

And with that, she's waking and I need to go nurse her back to sleep!