Праздничное настроение

В самом низу странички разместила подборку традиционных рождественских песен - их здесь играют по радио начиная сразу после дня Благодарения (это еще в ноябре). Я слушаю их по радио и дома, и в машине - создает приятное Рождественское настроение. Уже все слова наизусть знаю. Послушайте!

По-русски

Все, я решила, что теперь мой блог будет на русском языке. Я не знаю, насколько читаем блог сейчас, но мне кажется, что тем, кто сейчас его читает, я и так обо всем смогу рассказать, потому что это в основном мои друзья в Айове. А вот моя семья и друзья в России до сих пор читать блог не могли. И мне как-то стало стыдно. А тут еще мой брат с женой установили у себя высокоскоростной интернет, так что теперь мне не отвертеться. Так что - читайте!

Pacifiers

My daughter thinks that all pacifiers in the world belong to her, and if she sees one somewhere that is not in her mouth or hands, she is sure to try and correct the situation. She's got a baby doll that is scarily realistic, including an outfit and a bottle of "milk" and a pacifier. This is what happened when Anastasia saw the little pacifier in that poor doll's mouth.

 

 

 

Zen and the vacuum

 Cleaned and sanitized my apartment today, and I am feeling pretty zen about it. I love having a clean place. The only problem is, I don't like to clean. Does anyone else wish they were OCD and cleaned because they just couldn't help themselves? I have this inner conflict, because my mom always had a very neat and clean house but she never made me do it, so I grew into a person who wants to have a clean place, but lack discipline and organization to keep at it. It is not funny, because living in a messy environment causes me almost physical discomfort, but yet I let things get pretty out of hand sometimes. Then, once I start cleaning, I can't stop. It is an all-or-nothing deal. Talk about contradictions. I am like this housekeeper version of Jekyll and Hide ;)). Well, maybe not that bad.

 It is while I was cleaning today that I discovered that my daughter is terrified of the vacuum. I sat her up in the high chair so she wouldn't be underfoot and she screamed louder then the vacuum (and we don't have one of those nice quiet once, either). Then I tried vacuuming with one arm while holding her, but that was really uncomfortable, so I ended up just putting her in the crib so I could finish, and she screamed the whole time! After I picked her up and calmed her, I thought I would try some systematic desensitization and introduce her to the evil machine gradually. She did ok with the vacuum off if I was holding her, even reached out to touch it, but all my attempts to leave her one-on-one with it just brought on more crying, and turning it on made her almost hysterical. So, I need to figure out a way to vacuum when she is either asleep or someone is around to distract her.

The offending piece of equipment

 

  Me to Anastasia: "See, honey, the vacuum is nice, it is plastic, it's not going to eat you ..."

  Anastasia to herself: "Yeah, I am not so sure about that ..."

FAQs

Too often I talk to parents of slightly older kids who cannot remember when their kids started to roll over, smile, crawl, etc. And these are BIG things. There are also little things that they do on any given day that I think I am never going to forget but then cannot remember to tell my mom about it when I talk to her on the phone the next day. That is why blogging seemed like such a good idea to me. All these things are too precious to forget, so I took a piece of paper and over the course of a few days came up with this list that I called ANASTASIA FAQs: The First Six Months. I put them down as they came to my mind, so forgive me if it seems a little bit random.

ANASTASIA FAQs: The First Six Months 

• born at 8:23 pm on April 10, 2009 (Good Friday)`
  
• came home on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009
• her name is of Greek origin and means "resurrection"
• in Russian her name is pronounced Anastaseeya
  
• slept through the night at 4 weeks
• started smiling responsively and cooing at 4 weeks
• rolled over from back to tummy at 7 weeks
• grabbing at, batting at and shaking toys and objects at 2.5-3 months 
• sitting up with support at 3 months
  
• rolled over from tummy to back at 3.5 months
• started rocking on her hands and knees at 4 months
• able to sit up on her own if I put her up at 5 months
• pulling up to sit on her own at 6 months
• creeping around in a caterpillar-like motion at 6 months
• is starting to attempt to pull herself up to stand (so far she can only get up on her knees and then slides down, but the intent is obvious - I am sure it won't be long ;)
• will take a few steps if we hold her hands

My dear Anastasia, at 6 months you

are "talking" in different tones and love to blow "raspberries"

say "ga", "wa" and "rrrr" (like the French ;)

squeal in delight and growl

recognize words kitty, daddy, Anastasia and baby

like to "talk" with your mouth full (of toys or toes) cry with real tears when truly upset or hurt and without tears when just mad

cry when a coveted object (like mommy's watch or computer) is taken away from you

for a while you would smile really wide every time you heard the little song I used to sing to you in the hospital but by 3 months you forgot it

are starting to learn baby sign language: mommy, daddy, milk, all done, etc.

can grab and hold on to really small objects

swat and grab at anything mommy or daddy are eating 

can pinch (ouch!)

suck on your own toes

smile and flirt with random people at the store or restaurant and make their day

get very excited to see daddy after his long (very long) work day

love Harley the cat (you took out a lot of hairs and one of his whiskers while "petting" him)

think Shasta the dog is just hilarious

love watching daddy make silly faces and sounds at you

laugh and squeal at the blue Nessie on Baby Einstein DVD and smile at the sloth we occasionally see on PBS

know how to wave Bye-Bye and are learning how to clap (love watching others do it, and starting to bring your hands together and gazing at them for a while, unsure what to do next)

like to splash in a bowl of soapy water (fascinated with suds)

enjoy the games of Peeka-Boo and Little Piggies

favorite food - sweet potatoes, least favorite - peas

favorite books - Guess How Much I Love You, I Love You Through and Through (anybody notice a pattern here? :))

favorite songs - Чебурашка, На Ладони Божией, Звездная Страна

favorite toys - musical nursery rhyme book, TV remote, cell phone, breast pump, mommy's watch, the computer, anything with lights and/or sounds

your first little friends - Ethan Smith, Alex and Leah Samo, Silas from church nursery, your cousins when they are in town

nicknames: Bunches (short for Honey Bunches), Little You, The Girl, Little Lady, Princess, Анастейжечка Грейсик, Мамино Солнышко (the first one is a variation on her name and the second one means Mommy's Sunshine in Russian)

sleep on your tummy most of the time, but when really exhausted - on your back with arms raised up above your head

don't like taking naps

if mommy has coffee or Coke (only occasionally) you become very playful and alert and will stay up until very late at night

are a burping champ

are a little explorer - love to get into things that get left around, like mommy's purse, a stack of CDs, the basket of kitty toys

like to explore different objects and textures with hands and, especially, mouth

love your orange pacifier - will find it and put it back in your mouth if within sight/reach

are going to be an angel for your first Halloween

have been out of state once - to Minnesota (IKEA)

are the apple of your parents', grandparents' and great-grandparents' eye

have never seen your Russian family yet :(

apart from the initial scare right after you were born you haven't been sick a day in your life (praise the Lord!)

weigh 17.5 pounds and are 27 or 28 inches tall

have curly blond hair with a slight reddish tint that is long enough to be put in pig tails

wear 12 month size clothes and size 3 shoes

gray eyes

no teeth yet ;)

Uff, that is all I can think of so far. I might add a few items later if I think of more.

Hmmm...

My husband has this colleague at work (his other job, the one with the apes at night) who has recently started to display some strange behavior. Brent is supposed to relieve him at night, and he, consequently, is supposed to go home and sleep, then come back in the morning and start another day shift. Only he does not leave, he stays and works together with Brent, and he does a good job, carefully patrolling the perimeter, checking the security cameras, etc. Sometimes he leaves the guard shack. Brent says that he goes and sleeps in his car for a while. Then he wakes up and starts talking to Brent about life. My poor husband, talking is the last thing he wants to do (unless it's on the phone with me, of course ;))! He has to do this 12-hour shift after a whole day at work, and he would like to take a nap (not allowed), but at least relax, serf the internet in-between patrols. But he doesn't want to be rude. It is not clear what this guy is constantly doing there. Brent thinks that, perhaps, he lost his place as a result of the recession, or got divorced and left the house to his wife. Supposedly, he should be making enough money at this ape job to afford at least a small rental apartment. But who knows, maybe he has to pay  alimony... Brent doesn't want to question him directly, this person is 15 years older then him, also former military, and the guy does not volunteer any information. Their boss is aware of the situation but is ok with it, because the guy does not expect to get paid for all this overtime. So, tonight this guy calls Brent and asks for help - he needs to return his rental car, and he must do it tonight, otherwise he is going to get hit with a huge fee.
- "What are you supposed to do about it?", I ask.
- "He needs someone to take him back, since he is going to leave the car there". ("There" is in Dallas Center).
-"Are you his only friend?"
- "I guess so, he said there is no one else he could ask ..."
This is my husband for you, everybody's friend, always ready to help. Generally speaking, this is a great quality. Only, tomorrow he has to meet the pastor at 6 am, and then go to work. He is now taking a nap on the couch to make sure he has energy. I advised him to use this opportunity and ask the guy on the way back about what is going on in his life. Maybe he needs help. We'll see ... Any advice?

Not Me Monday

 Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
Can't believe it's Monday already!
 I guess a couple things did not happen to me this last week. I did not wish, even for a fleeting moment, that I were still single and childless so I could be free to do stuff  like some of my single friends are doing. I did not feel like real life was passing me by. One kiss from my husband and one little smile from my daughter did not make me forget all these ramblings and be extremely thankful for the life I have now. 
 I did not take my baby to bed with me last night so she would sleep in and, consequently, so would I. That was not proven to be an unsafe practice when I woke up to her crying and found her in a huge basket of unfolded laundry that I had conveniently left right by my side of the bed the night before. Had this happened, though, which it certainly did not, she would have landed on the pile of towels and t-shirts and remain completely unharmed.
Looking forward to reading some of your Not Me posts!

Things you don't say to your wife

FUNNY!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1162231569477

I have a dream

to teach my parents how to use the Internet. Which would be a big deal because they can barely use the new DVD player we gave them and the cell phone. I had to leave written instructions. It's true. They just have trouble with modern technology, not because they are not smart, they just grew up in a different world and somehow can't wrap their minds around it. But it must be possible, because I have several friends whose parents are my parents' age (late 50s) who are happily using the internet and even Skype! Now, that would be really ambitious. Because then I could say, "Do you like my new haircut?", or "Look what I made for dinner tonight!", or "Sorry my living room is messy". But it must be possible! We even have a little computer that we could give them. Of course, I would have to be there to teach them, but it would be such a great thing. Because I really miss them. And they are missing out on our everyday lives, on Anastasia growing up. Of course, we call and send CDs with pictures and videos, but it is not the same. So, I am going to discuss this idea with Brent, and somehow we will come up with a plan to get my family on the World Wide Web ;O) I think that would make the distance between our continents just a little bit shorter.

 

Anastasia meets flower

Beauty

can even be found in Iowa in October. Again, if you know me, you know me and Iowa don't have the greatest relationship, so that is an unlikely statement ;). Yesterday I found these gorgeous flowers on sale and couldn't help myself. The colors were just so perfect! They are now in my living room, and every time I look at them it makes me smile.

I also found these ...

And all that beauty inspired me to create this ...

My living room looks so nice and cozy with these bright spots in it! 

Today

was a MOPS Tuesday (Mothers of Preschoolers). It was my first meeting, and we even made it on time. Well, to be precise, I was one minute late. If you know me, you know that I am almost always pathologically on time, so that is an important distinction in my world. I had everything planned to be there early, had Anastasia fed and ready to go ahead of schedule, and was feeling proud of myself, since it's taken me a while to master getting out of the house with a baby. Unfortunately, as I started to brush my hair, I discovered the biggest knot in it that was impossible to untangle, so, after wasting 15 minutes on it, I just pretty much ripped it out. Ouch! As if I haven't lost enough hair already after giving birth!

 Oh well, moving on ... I tried dropping Anastasia off at the nursery so I could have some uninterrupted fellowship time, but that didn't work too well. She usually does good in our church nursery, but this time they had to come get me after about 10 minutes because she would not calm down. She wanted her mommy. Poor little lady, she was pretty upset. I was kind of glad about it, though, because it means she is reaching another important developmental milestone - object permanence.

 Oh, and I wanted to tell you about the cute thing she did today. She is really working on trying to crawl. So far it hasn't happened, but she has gone from pushing herself backwards to doing this caterpillar motion. She gets up on her hands and knees, rocks for a while, moves her feet forward, and then falls down while thrusting her whole body forward at the same time. It is a really slow process, but she is able to get to where she wants to be. So, being able to do that, she is starting to get into things. This afternoon, while I wasn't looking, she crawled over to a package of baby wipes, opened the lid, and took out all the wipes. She was just about to put a bunch of them in her mouth when I found her.

  She had this guilty look on her face when she saw me.

                     

 It was also very amusing to see a puzzled look on her face when she tried really hard to pick a brightly colored pattern off our mattress and couldn't. I think it has something to do with lack of depth perception at this age. She persevered at it for a long time, and then gave up, decided to at least taste it, put her face down and licked it. If the mounting does not come to Mohammad then Mohammad will come to the mountain (this is a Russian saying meaning that if something is not working one way, there is always another way to get it done).

 Anastasia was very happy when Daddy came home early tonight. He was holding her, and she was looking at him, while sucking on her tows and gurgling simultaneously.

I just love the toe sucking!

 

Anyway, in a nutshell, that was our day. How was your day?

Not Me Monday

 Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Ok, where do I start ...

First of all, I did not sell some stuff that my daughter no longer uses on Craigslist to help pay a medical bill, only to not go and spend part of the money on a cute new baby outfit at Target. This is not that outfit.

I certainly did not eat two chocolate chip cookies while looking at pictures of my skinny self from two years and 20 pounds ago, because I always feel good about myself and would never do that sort of thing.

The endorphins that my body produced as a response to the chocolate did not make me feel better at all.

Oh, of course, I did not mumble "Gosh, maybe formula isn't all that bad" while pumping for the umpteenth time today. I couldn't have done it because I totally look forward to those suction cups attached to my body and don't make a list of things I could be doing instead in my head.

And finally, I did not taste the rice cereal that I have been feeding my daughter for the last three days and find it not as disgusting as I thought. I did not later proceed to eat up what she didn't finish off. That would be especially disgusting since it was rice cereal mixed with my own breast milk. I did not tell my husband about it just to gross him out, either.

Oh, and just one more ... I did not think "Oh, that's kind of a good idea" when I heard that somebody hid their dirty dishes in the oven to keep visitors from seeing them. Because I have never put my dishes into a plastic bin in the bedroom as a way to quickly clean up on a short notice.

It'll be interesting to read about what has not been happening with everyone else ...

Good Morning!

This is just my baby looking cute in her jammies.

Look at that!

I wish I could bottle up her cuteness, her warmth, her sweet baby smell and carry it with me during the day.

Hush! Hush! The baby is sleeping ...

I love watching my baby sleep. I have from the moment I brought her home. I also love holding her while she is sleeping. There is just something comforting about holding a sleeping baby, about the way her warm relaxed body fits into my arms. I can hold her for hours while watching TV, reading, or just contemplating life. Sometimes I watch her sleep and wonder what she is dreaming about. She smiles, frowns, furrows her eyebrows and makes little noises or sucking motions with her lips. Well, that last one is not hard to figure out. Anyway, I totally enjoy it. I am paying for it, though. Unless she is completely exhausted/riding in the car, Anastasia won't go down for a nap unless I am cuddling her. It is inconvenient, but so special, in a way. While she is drifting off to sleep, she'll open her eyes a few times, just to check that I am still there, and then let out a little sigh and flutter her eyelashes at me. Mommy is near, and everything is all right in the world. It's amazing that I can give someone such sense of security. So, never mind all the stuff I could/should be getting done while I am holding her instead. "I am rocking my baby, and babies don't keep".

I am new at this ...

I had all these ideas about how I was going to start, but all the clever thoughts seem to have vanished out of my head, so I am just going to explain why I decided to join the hoards of moms blogging about their kids' lives. I had doubts about it for a while - do I really want to spend any more time on the computer then I already do? The fact that this is such a great way to keep a pretty detailed account of your everyday life, all the little things, was what tipped the scales. The idea that appeals to me the most is to be able to go back years later and immerse myself in the moments that otherwise would become forgotten. So, here we go ...