December 2006

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The difference between the way our girls view one another

December 23, 2006 by Devona | No comments

is really striking. Olivia is a drive-by-fan of Elise. Olivia takes great pride in making Elise’s happy noise (an unvoiced, glottal fricative) and watching Elise light up. But Olivia is also very much into her own fantasies right now, and so a lot of her relationship with Elise is in watching how I take care of her and then mimicking that with her own babies. So, Elise is a round character in Olivia’s play, but it is still Olivia’s play in Olivia’s mind.

It is also Olivia’s play in Elise’s mind. If Olivia is in Elise’s line of sight nothing else can divert her attention. If Olivia can be heard in the room Elise is busy trying to find her. And Elise also has set herself upon the task of sitting up Read the rest of this entry »

Olivia’s late nap

December 20, 2006 by Devona | 3 comments

OK, so we moved Olivia into a toddler bed, which she has been a little nervous about, but has been very determined to use. Elise is almost ready to move into the crib, and since it is in Olivia’s room I’m not too worried about her feeling lonely, especially since she sleeps at least 6 to 7 hour stretches at night, and does almost all of her napping in my arms.

So anyway, today Olivia didn’t want to go to sleep, but I knew that she was very tired, so I closed her in her room for a “quiet time” and told her that I’d be back in an hour, and she could call me if she needed me. In that time she pooped, and called for me, banged around and made a mess, and was generally peacefully occupied in her room. Well, I went up at the end of the hour and she was asleep. Not only that, but she had carefully tucked herself into her bed all by herself, and she is sleeping soundly. It’s all very cute, but now I’m trying to decide if I should wake her up, since it’s dinner time in a half hour?

Difficult situation…

Christmas Quizzy!

December 18, 2006 by Devona | 4 comments

From Katie’s Beer, via Shelley’s Talk blog. I haven’t done a quiz in a long time, but this one seemed especially worth my time. Since I have insomnia tonight (I fell asleep with the snuggly baby and the snuggly doggie on the couch, and then when I went to bed I remembered that Elise has peed on the sheets this morning, so I had to change them. That woke me up too much so now I’m here trying to get sleepy again.)
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Really I’d just prefer cookies and coffee.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?

We’re still trying to figure out what Santa does in our home.

3. Colored or white lights on the tree and/or house?

White. It just looks so classy.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?

No.

5. When do you put your decorations up?

I put things up the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?

There never were any specifically Christmas dishes in my family growing up, so I have come to really looks forward to Mary’s oyster stew on Christmas Eve.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child.

I have a very particular memory of looking up at the lights from under the tree, and feeling very magical.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t tell Elise…

December 18, 2006 by Devona | 2 comments

but she just got a dozen of these for Christmas. What else do you get for a baby when mom has a meticulous system for hand-me-downs?

Knock Knock

December 7, 2006 by Devona | 2 comments

x-posted at the old blog

I don’t know why, but every child must learn to tell a knock knock joke. I think that it must be a prerequisite for reading. This is Olivia’s:

Mom: Say, “knock knock.”

Liv: Knock knock.

Other family member: Who’s there?

Liv: Radio not…

Mom: Wait! Say, “Radio.”

Liv: Radio.

Other family member: Radio who?

Liv: (30 seconds of silence)

Mom: (elevated eyebrows of encouragement)

Liv: Radio not! Here I come!

Everyone: (exaggerated giggling)

Adoption

December 3, 2006 by Devona | 7 comments

Most people who know me know that my father adopted me when I was 2. I have always had my biological mother, so I wasn’t traditionally adopted, but I do know how it feels to love someone who is chromosomally different from me in every way as though we were flesh and blood.

I just got home from visiting my dad. We drove the three and a half hours to spend the weekend with him and my step-mom and her mother. On the road home, at 9:30pm, I brought up to Rob that I want to adopt our next child.

This went over like a ton of lead balloons. Not because Rob doesn’t want to adopt, but he’s so practical. Adoption is very practical, inasmuch as you have to actually apply and be accepted and adopt a real live child. Adoption is unlike pregnancy, in that it can absolutely never happen by accident. It can’t spring upon you when you’re not prepared. But if you only see it as a practical matter it would never happen. Much like you are never all the way ready for your first biological child, you can never be fully ready to adopt.

I, on the other hand, see adoption in a very (not to sound gnostic) spiritual way. I have a serious connection to a child who I will never carry, and likely does not yet exist. So to me all the practical things are just the hoops we’re going to jump in order to get to what Adoption really is, a child I somehow already love. Most people have no idea what that feels like.

It’s probably a good thing that we don’t see Adoption in exactly the same way. If it weren’t for my idealism it would never happen. And if it weren’t for Rob’s practicality we’d be head over heals with the process today, regardless of the fact we have a newborn and a toddler.

So. Now we’re talking about it. This is a break-through post for me. It’s something I am afraid to talk about, since once you start talking about something idealistic it becomes subject to reality and becomes something that might not happen. So I’m not going to go into to many details. But this might become a frequent topic for me as we explore the idea more as a family.

We’re getting our feet wet.