Sasha at 2 Years 1 Month Old
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
So, our computer broke down about a month ago. Irrevocably dead. The monitor of our laptop was fried to a crisp; the screen looked like someone took a hammer to it. We did buttloads of research and bought a new, beautiful computer. But, we had to wait for it (stupid economy shipping). And wait and wait and wait. Then we had to get someone to reinstall our old hard drive. And, we had to upload all our programs. And, try to figure out why certain programs were not uploading successfully. After three billion years, the computer was finally ready. And, that in a nutshell is why I was unable to do last month's blog. But, you get TWO entries right now. I am making it up to the two loyal readers (Mom & Beck). Go me.
This month Sasha is all about the counting. She usually misses four and occasionally nine but everything must be tallied. From gummy bears to how many books I must " READ NOW! READ NOW!" to how many boobs I have (two).
We introduced Sasha to a little bit of TV this month. She loves, loves, loves it. Can't get enough. Every hour, she asks/ demands plaintively to watch. I just don't get the rapt appreciation for Blue's Clues. A heavily made-up man acts mentally deficient for a half hour. And, I think he relies too much on jazz hands. I only let her view for about 15 minutes because a) I am an evil, heartless mom and b) any longer and I'll have to be locked up.
Nona took Sasha to see her first two puppet shows this month. The first was an unmitigated disaster. Sasha hated sitting still and listening to the hideously long monologues the nasally, narcissistic puppetmaster inflicted upon us. There were only two puppets and minimal props (one straggly cactus). I had to take Sasha out repeatedly because of yelping, shoe throwing, and hair grabbing. I was terrified of going again. But, oh what a difference a good puppeteer makes! Sasha loved Goldilocks, "the very bad girl" who "breaking baby [bear] chair". It was so much fun to watch her enthralled by an 18 inch puppet's antics. Yeah, she fidgeted a little but Sasha is two.
The tantrums continue to grow in length, histrionics, and flair. A half hour of drama because I forgot to let her flush the toilet. She will also go to the opposite extreme and sulk like a grounded menstrual teen. She'll turn her back to me and refuse to talk or look at me. She can hold a mood like that for an unusually long time. At least it is quiet and I can get some reading done.
Sasha has started art class. The teacher is a bit ditzy and hysterical but tries so hard to let the kids make a mess without crying. The projects are too advanced for a toddler and so they all end up looking like huge smears of paint, markers, glue, glitter, and/or food coloring (I have hung up every single one). Sasha much prefers the cleaning up to the creating. I have only seen her get excited when it's time to wash her hands or put away the scissors (are any of my genes going to come out in her?).
Phoenix is hellish right now temp-wise (Sasha tried to cool the outdoors down by blowing on it). We only go outside to swim which we do on a daily basis. Sasha received her second ribbon in swimming. She can now rollover and float! Yay! One more survival tool in her belt. Now if she will just learn to be obedient, she'll probably survive to eighteen.
Sasha at 2 Years 2 Months Old
Saturday, August 8th, 2009
This month has been a month of escape...I mean, travel. I went to San Francisco, San Diego, and Flagstaff. Sasha came on the two latter trips. Flagstaff was a little bit of a nightmare. Sasha skipped her nap on the way up (try entertaining a kid with an attention span of a gnat for two hours- we are getting a portable DVD player asap). The shrieking and complaining really set me at ease...not stressful at all even when Jimmy left the directions to the hotel at home and we circled for another half hour. Sweet. Thankfully, we got such a fabulous deal for the hotel! Know what a $48.98 room at Howard Johnson's can get you? A lovely "suite" decorated with a plethora of unidentifiable stains. It was so easy to relax on the clean-ish sheets and listen to the hum of the highway two inches from out door.
We went to Flag because we thought we could spend the whole time outside. Unfortunately they were having a terrible, awful heat wave with temps near 100. Awesome. We still made Sasha go on a hike.
Sasha did a great job of walking if only she didn't feel obligated to lecture us the entire way. She looks an awful lot like my dad here; this was one of his most common expressions. Very scary...if I didn't believe in ghosts before... Jimmy and I were the ones who wilted under the heat so we forced Sasha to turn back after 300 yards or so. We took refuge at a yummy restaurant with air conditioning (this is how I like to vacation).
We left Flagstaff the next day. Sasha took an abbreviated nap on the way home and was a monster the next week. I think we'll wait until she is 5 or 6 before attempting any road trip again. Next summer, I am up for a staycation at a local resort with a waterpark (hint, hint).
The next trip was to San Diego. The weather was a lot nicer there and Sasha does much better on 1 hour plane trips planned around her nap schedule. Sasha loved the zoo this time and could not get enough of all the animals. Very cute. We also enjoyed parks, shopping, swimming, and walking my mom's dogs (this last one may have been Sasha's favorite activity). My little sweetie fed those dogs about a hundred treats each day. It was very cute although the side effect included diarreah. Oh well.
Sasha finally pooped in the potty consecutively for a few days. I am very, very excited. Peeing we have down to a science but the idea of pooping in anything other than a diaper was making Sasha constipated. I think we have gotten over that hump now.
Other things of note: Sasha would eat pancakes, yoghurt, and mac n' cheese every single day if she could. She's still obsessed with babies and wants to smother/ choke them with love. However, our daughter has started playing with other girls her own age (not great but beginning bits of interation!!!). Sasha is very into the IDEA of sharing and taking turns, just not the actualization. And the best thing: Sasha says, "I love you" every night before going to bed and demands a bunch of hugs and kisses. I don't care if it is a stalling tactic; I'll take affection where I can get it.
