My family arranged a balloon release for the second anniversary of the death of my cousin Brandon, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2011. I posted previously about his memorial service and the amazing support from their community. We were sad that we were not able to attend. It seems like it was a beautiful service.
Photo caption by Brooke Elliott
We wanted to do something in honor of Brandon and his sacrifice so we arranged to release a balloon at home.
Where did summer go? Seriously. This is ridiculous.
Classes started yesterday. While I want to be in denial, the flocks of students creating their own crosswalks in the middle of the road make that difficult. Every August I question working at a university. However, parking has been great so that's a plus.
As of August 1, I became the new Associate Director of Clinical Training for our program (thanks, Maureen... :/ ). I think it's a good fit for me as it will force me to start making connections with a number of clinical sites and psychologists around the state. But so far it has just been a trickle of emails related to grants and contracts I know nothing about. But I have a course release this semester that should help me get somewhat up to speed. Along with writing three grants (due 2 weeks apart...), several manuscripts, and preparing an online course for the winter intercession. Yikes.
I can't recall if I mentioned it previously but Chad has taken a new position at Stillwater Medical Center. The hours and insurance are great and he likes how fast-paced it is. He likes his new co-workers though he is also missing the friends he made at his previous job.
Alaina is doing fine. Her cough is back with a vengeance but we are treating that with an inhaler and occasional Benadryl.
Friday night her cough was so terrible she couldn't stay asleep. Chad was holding her while I got some medicine ready and she took that time to projectile vomit all over him (and herself; thankfully they were in the tiled foyer). Poor guy. His face was sort of priceless. We think it was a combination of allergies, the cough, and too much dairy. If we were questioning if she's still allergic to dairy, I think that has been answered. Oops.
She's been up to a lot of fun stuff, though. She asks for "bath (ba)", "snack ('nak)" and will say "baby (bayba)". She will also repeat (er, tries to repeat) ball, bubble, and goat (!!). I really think most everything sounds pretty much the same but it's cool to be able to watch her try to communicate and magically know what she means. She also has started signing "help". Instead of what it 'should' look like, it's more of a 'slow clap'. Pretty hilarious.
She's also into giving kisses, especially to her favorite characters in books. She really isn't very into stuffed animals yet though she apparently loves her 'babies' at school.
She really loves her Mirabelle books.
She's currently most into shoes and cleaning. Ah, gender stereotypes.
Sometimes there is crying on the floor. (Okay, honestly the only reason I posted this picture is because it's the first one I have taken where you can see Alaina's top teeth!)
There is modeling of funny bows. Madeline photo bomb! (she is doing much better, by the way)
There is judgment. So much judgment.
There is eating crackers.
There is always laughter (everyone who meets her says she has the very best baby laugh. We agree!).
There are kisses.
And just general silliness.
There is a lot of play time.
And fortunately now, Alaina loves to clean. We are trying to capitalize on that. So there is a lot of cleaning (and screaming. Girls apparently love to scream).
But cleaning gets old (trust me, I understand!)
There is lots of time to play with the dogs. (she is just soooo pretty. Sometimes I have to say it.)
And model new shoes (that don't quite fit...). This video is awful and makes Chad and I crack up every single time. If you only watch one, it should be this one. If you want to laugh and feel like you're a terrible person, that is.
And go outside.
And learn culinary skills from the master (daddy). Mmmm, Miss Fancy Pants like fetuccinne bolognese.
The weeks are just flying by now! My school semester starts Monday and I am SO not ready!
So I've seen a lot of interesting parenting analogies out there (e.g., getting a baby dressed is like trying to clothe an angry octopus. There is some truth in that!). So this isn't really anything new but as I was reflecting during midnight texts with a friend--it feels like babies/kids consistently wait until his/her parent is starting to feel confident and then s/he changes the rules. This reminded me of the Wisconsin card sorting task. Without providing too much detail (in the interest of psychometric test security), the WCST is a neuropsychological test that measures "flexibility in thinking" by changing the rules throughout the task.
This.
This is parenting.
Your child will do something crazy like sleep through the night at an early age (i.e., never forget that STTN just means 5 hours...some hypomanic pediatrician rule passed down, not mine). Just when you begin to emerge from the haze of sleep deprivation and feel almost rested...
Bam! Set shift.
Adjust to a new schedule of reinforcement.
Now we wake up every hour to feed. Or we wake up in the middle of the night to practice a new skill--like smiling. Or crawling. Or walking. Or because we missed you. Or because it's Tuesday.
When you tell the pediatrician your child is not really a climber, no matter what your child's school has told you about her being fearful of steps, rest assured--you will turn around the very next day and she will have climbed on the fireplace. Oops, no one told you the rules change throughout the game?
It absolutely gets easier. Just don't rest on your laurels for one second because kids are unpredictable. That child who turned her nose up at broccoli will get mad one night when she runs out of it at dinner...
They keep you on your toes.
I hear this is magnified if you have more than one child (when did all these rules change; this seems like a whole new game??). We do well to keep up with the current ever-shifting reinforcement schedule as it is so we won't be finding that out for a long time (if ever!).
Alaina had her 15 month appointment today (though she's just a week shy of 16 months). Great appointment! She's on track developmentally. She weighed 23.44 pounds, was 30.5 inches, and had an 18.5 head circumference. She's just a smidge on the short, chubby, big headed size. Which is perfect for a baby. :)
Alaina also had to get her shots today. I was all worked up about her MMR shot and forgot that she had that 3 months ago. She has been perfect all day/evening, just a ball of giggles and cuddles. Probably not a side effect of the vaccines but hey, there's some anecdotal evidence you'll never hear anyone touting.
Before the shots, she tried to tell me she could get dressed and get out of there before anyone noticed...
Then she tried hiding...(it's a shame she just loves being found!).
