Singing and Spring

Blue skies and temps in the 60's and low 70's, what more could one ask for? We took our walk a little later this morning so except for Ian we weren't as bundled up. In fact at the end I took my coat and Nadia's coat off as I was sweating. Ian fell asleep in the stroller which meant there was no way they'd be taking simultaneous afternoon naps, but it did mean we could take a much longer walk this morning. It was a very wonderful way to get some exercise and also talk with Nadia about all the things we were seeing. She helped me count houses that we were passing, and it was the first time she counted to four (three had been the highest until today).

Nadia isn't the only one using the Bumbo. The first few days it was a problem because she kept getting stuck and needed my help to get out (and invariably I would be nursing Ian when this happened). Thankfully she has learned how to get out of it herself. We didn't have one when she was little so this has been her first experience with one. As for the double stroller, I can see one disadvantage of the front/back kind (rather than side by side) is that Nadia kicks the back of Ian's seat all the time. Somehow he managed to stay asleep. I would like to make taking a walk part of our daily routine as much as possible although I don't know if we'll have time tomorrow. I was really, really tired this morning and ended up eating a bunch of cookies to wake myself up before the 9:30 online training session. So I definitely needed to get some extra exercise today. It really would be helpful if I was a coffee drinker on days like today when I can barely keep my eyes open. I did doze off a bit while Ian was taking his first nap. I put him down earlier and that proved to be a good move as he took a 90 minute nap without any help from me. During the training session I was nursing Ian and Nadia was watching Curious George. She can now say "George" although she still refers to him as "monkey" unless you ask her what the monkey's name is. She loves the Curious George socks I got her at Target last week.

I was wrong when I said Nadia couldn't climb the steps to her slide. I still think they need to be modified as they weren't made with a 20 month old in mind. I only let her climb them when I standing right there to help if needed. Two decisions that I am very happy I made are to install a fence and restrict doggy to her crib. She has stopped asking for doggy once she's downstairs. She still wants to take him down with her, but she's satisfied when we let her take a different animal of her choosing down. Doggy is staying much cleaner, we aren't having a battle over not holding him when she's eating, and now she has something to look forward to at naptime and bedtime. She didn't want to come inside for her nap, and it helped a lot to remind her that doggy was waiting for her. The fence is also a huge blessing. I only wish they had been neater in their installation. First they left behind this HUGE pile of dirt (from all the holes they dug for the posts) which has of course killed the grass that was under it, and they left pieces of concrete and big chunks of mud in many places around the yard. We're going to have to clean that up before we mow the lawn for the first time, and I want the pile of dirt relocated as well.

Last night I went to choir rehearsal for the first time since Ian was born. I have really missed it. I love singing, and I love the music this choir direct selects. I only stayed for one hour so that I could be home in time to nurse Ian and put him and myself to bed by 9pm. Well he was already in sleepy mode by the time I got home so he didn't nurse very much. I guess I could have stayed for the whole rehearsal (another 30 minutes). This coupled with the fact that Ian finally had his first long stretch in two weeks meant I was leaking all over the place and had clogged ducts by the time he woke up. He slept 5.5 hours! Unfortunately from there on out he kept waking up after sleeping only 45-60 minutes. It was very annoying!!! Nadia woke up around 6:30am. Paul had kept her up until I came home (8:15) so that I could put her to bed so she was up later than usual yesterday. She probably got 10 hours of sleep, but considering she took a 3.5 hour nap yesterday I wasn't surprised she needed less than 11 hours last night. Today her nap was about 90 minutes long.

I thought I'd be taking a break from sharing about Nadia's excretory functions, but I have to comment that she's definitely more aware of them. At least once a day she says "poop" and holds herself. On Monday she ran over to where the potty had been and gave me a very confused look. Yesterday she said it while I was giving her a bath. She stood up and said "poop" and I panicked at the thought she might do that in the bathtub. Thankfully she actually had to pee. She stood there with a look of panic on her face as she peed in the tub. Not that I want her peeing in the tub (the bath quickly came to an end), but I was thrilled that she was aware that she needed to pee before she actually started peeing (albeit she said the wrong word). This morning she ran over and said "poop" and held herself, but I was in the middle of the online training and nursing Ian so I told her to go in her diaper, and she did. I am thinking that since she seems to be making more progress in being aware of what's going on that I should buy her some pull-ups and unpack the potty chair. I don't want to go back to all-out potty training, but if she takes the initiative then we could take a laid back approach for the next 2 months. I am thinking that I will likely try again in May rather than waiting until July since she keeps talking about it every day.

The last few weeks I have changed my mind back and forth regarding my fall schedule. I had planned on teaching 2 classes (50%), but my chair had scheduled me for 3 (75%). What was making the decision harder to make was the fact that the third class is scheduled for Wednesday nights. Last fall I taught Mon, Tues, and Thursday nights which enabled me to sing in the choir on Wednesday nights. I'm scheduled for Mon, Wed, and Thursday in the fall. Right now I'm just teaching on Monday and Tuesday nights. Last night I came up with a solution. It hit me during choir rehearsal that just like I left early last night, I could come late in the fall. If I went straight from class to choir I could be there for the second half of the 90 minute rehearsal. By that time Ian will be going to bed by 7pm so he'll be asleep when I come home from class. So for the first time I feel settled in my decision. I will teach 75% in the fall. I'm hoping to stay with this schedule (3 nights a week) for the next two years. We're hoping Paul will graduate in May 2012. Yesterday my chair told me that I am actually able to finish the individualized instruction I had been doing this semester. I am glad about that as those are easy for me to do from home.