Busy-ness, Potty, and New Schedules

Stella had quite the busy weekend: Bike rides, learning the art of eating with two very skinny sticks, cleaning windows, vacuuming, cleaning furniture, putting toys away, picking up books and alphabetizing them (kidding), overcoming her fear of sitting on the potty, collecting Cinderella figurines (as a result of overcoming her fear of sitting on the potty), baking cookies, and today Stella did a Costco run.
I started my four day work week schedule today, working four ten hour days every week. It means three day weekends all the time, which is going to be so much fun for Stella, as well.
This little chica will be starting her babysitting stint with our friends Jen and Drew. Drew is just a couple months younger than Stella, and, starting tomorrow, Jen will start watching Stella a few days a week, while Glenn is in school. We will miss Grammie watching Stella (Glenn's parents just retired to Oregon), but I think this new arrangement will work out well. We can always go visit the grandparents over a three day weekend.
Here a few pics from Stella's cookie-making:

Bikes, Naps, & Chopsticks

This morning my friend Nancy and I took the kiddos on a bike ride into Walnut Creek. Nancy has a little boy named Jacob. He is just the sweetest little thing, and he and Stella have such a great time together. Anyway, they were so great, on the ride out. Checking out ducks, doggies, and one another, along the trail. We spent about an hour and a half at the park, and then headed back. The ride was about six miles each way, so it is quite a while sitting on the back of a bike. The were both great sports about having to be strapped down for an extended period of time. Stella was just starting to become pretty irritated that I couldn't hold her, when we were still few miles from home. After a few minutes of fussing, and right after Nancy asked me if Stella had ever fallen asleep in her bike seat, (to which I answered 'No') it got pretty quiet:




Jacob soon followed suit:

Later on, at dinner time, we decided (ok, really I was the only one who thought it would be fun) to eat dinner with chopsticks. Stella wasn't half bad, for a 2 year old white girl, who had no previous experience with chopsticks. She quickly figured out that she could skewer and eat her grapes with them (Glenn is totally posing in this one):






PS: I have to say that Nancy and I rock for hauling a couple of toddlers on a twelve mile bike ride!

Hair Spray...Uh..I mean Hair Cut!

Stella has always had quite a bit of hair. It used to be black. When it got wet, it looked like a little black 'fro (see much older posts for pics). As she has gotten older, Stella's hair has gotten longer, thicker, and blond. For the longest time (seemingly, anyway), I would decorate her hair with pretty little bows, and cute little hair clips. It added to the glee of having a girl. Right around Stella's first birthday, she discovered that she could remove said decorations at will. Not more little piggy tails. I was very sad. I tried, in vain, for several more months to continue my habit of adorning Stella's noggin with various girly accessories, only to have them pulled out mere moments later. Then, I had to start trimming Stella's bangs. As I could no longer keep them pulled out of the girl's eyes, they needed some maintenance. First, I tried distracting her, as I put the scissors against her little forehead. Then, came another tactic: Glenn would put Stella in a 'sleeper hold' while I quickly ran the scissors across her head. The results were mixed: either they would end up mostly straight (really, this almost never happened), or I performed a pretty bad hack job, hidden only by Stella's windblown look when we rode around with the windows down. Then, came the blessed request from Stella to have her hair put in "piggy tails and clippies". So, for the past couple of months, We have gone back to enjoying some cute little girly hairstyles, not even worrying about the bangs, as they were always pulled back by some colorful little clip. Now, we are back to nothing in the hair. I know, I have tortured you all with this long, rambling of one of many excruciating minutiae of my existence only to announce to you all that Stella finally, actually, sat for a haircut last night. Granted I did have to offer a bribe, but she sat perfectly still, while I did a stellar job with her bangs. Now you can see those gorgeous eyes again!! Yippee!!

This is during:

And this is after:

Career Change

So I am considering a career change. My experience goes back to my first shower (before that, if parental accounts are to be believed). I am not horrible at it, though I could certainly be better. Also, this particular skill has been in much demand lately. Though I don’t get much of an opportunity to stretch my wings and try some variation with this new role, I figure if I just keep plugging away, sooner or later I will get better.
In an effort to help Stella conquer her fear of sitting on the potty, I went out and bought some ‘incentives’, just to get her to try and sit on the potty. Obviously, my negotiating skills leave much to be desired, as Stella never did sit on the potty, but still received her ‘surprise’. I am guessing that next time, I shouldn’t show her the prize as I am coaxing her onto the potty. The booty: a plastic Cinderella figurine, along with her Prince. Since then, these two characters dance together, hold hands, kiss, and sing to one another. Stella’s favorite activity, by far, is to have Cinderella dance with her Prince. Of course, one cannot dance with out the music to inspire. As a result of this need to dance, Stella has had me sing ‘Once Upon a Dream’ non-stop for the past couple of days. “Sing Dream”, she so sweetly requests. Of course I have to oblige if for no other reason than to just watch how sweetly she plays with these beloved friends of hers. I know, this particular song is actually featured in ‘Sleeping Beauty’. However, Stella seems to think this a more appropriate song, given the extremely romantic nature of the lyrics, as well as the music.
Stella often requests me to sing to her, but lately, this is the only song she cares to hear. Once in while she will bust out with the alphabet song (she can sing the entire thing solo), but it tends to throw off Cinderella’s rhythm, so we stick to the romance. While I love this unpaid internship that I am currently engaged in, I think I will stick to my day job. At least until the record deals start pouring in (though I suspect my stage fright would probably keep me from going too far down that road, anyway).

Summer Pics

So here are some pics from the last couple of months, that some may enjoy:
Stella slaving away in the kitchen and hating every minute of it

Gotta look cool in the pool

Figuring out the beloved Rubik's cube

Hanging with Alika - these two are such pals lately

Discovering new friends - this is Cayden. His mom and I were roommates in Berkeley (oh so long ago)
Yes, those are indeed rain boots paired with a swimsuit - this little Chica is headed off to get wet!

PS - I've added a few pics to previous posts, if you care to take a peek.

Things That Go Bump In The Night

Stella: "What are those"? (pointing at the sky, as we lay on a blanket at the park today)
Mom: "Those are clouds. (pause) Stella, how many clouds do you see?"
Stella: "One..Two..Three..Four..Five..Six..Seven...."
Mom: "What comes after seven?"
Stella: "Eight..Nine..ten (in a really small voice)."
Yep, the little munchkin can count to ten. Man, are kids smart!

I am trying all sorts of things to get Stella to fall asleep on her own, so the 90 minute long routine of rocking and singing can come to an end. Tonight, Stella cried and cried. I was in the living room when I heard a thud come from our upstairs neighbors. I decided to sneak a peek at Stella. I had tip-toed down the hall and was just reaching for the door knob, when it started to move on its own. Stella had climbed (and fallen) out of her crib, and was on her way out of the bedroom. I am surprised it took her this long to decide to try this (she is two). I guess the remainder of the week will consist of adjusting Stella's crib to resemble a bed. This should be an interesting next few weeks, as we teach Stella to stay in her bed. I feel like it is an uphill battle, sometimes, to keep the tail from wagging the dog.