Discovery of the Week (DOW)

So I was thinking that this blog could use a little more structure to it. I feel like I just post so randomly, and that it would be nice to have a specific type of update from the polka dot world to count on every week.

So I decided to institute 2 weekly discoveries-- one discovery or development that Eliza has made and one discovery that I have made in the world of mothering/parenting/life. If we're lucky maybe we'll even get one from Steve too! I think the hard part will be narrowing down Eliza's discovery to just one.

I feel like every day she makes such huge progress and is just learning and discovering all kinds of things about her world. Like how to pull my hair or my glasses off my face or how to make sounds with her drool that sound like pooping and then employing the skill right at the perfect moment like during the prayer at a dinner party...! See~! There are so many inadvertent or very adverdent (maybe even stubborn) skills that she is mastering! I feel so lucky to be able to have a front seat to see them occurring (even when it causes me bodily harm!).

So this week's discovery for Eliza is....
POODLES!!!

Okay, just kidding, it's really only one poodle (although the real poodles at Oma and Grandpa's house are getting more and more interesting every visit). More specifically, Eliza's discovery of the week is her TOYS. She has finally mastered the ability to GRAB. I guess it probably happened before this week, but for the sake of this blog's theme, it's the discovery of the week.

Eliza has loved being able to grab her rattles, teething rings, (as previously mentioned) my hair and both Steve and my glasses, pans on the stove if I'm not careful (thankfully it wasn't hot- yikes!), etc. But her pink poodle has become quite popular. She loves for us to put him (or her?) on her belly when she's lying down and make our pitiful versions of a high-pitched bark while we pat her face with the stuffed toy.

She just squeals and beams with pleasure and then bites its black poodle nose and pulls it legs and tail and ears all around. I think one of her discoveries of the week will soon be rolling over b/c she follows the poodle around on the mat and will roll onto her side but is not quite ready to make the plunge to her belly. Anywayz, Yay for the poodle, right? and for Oma who gave it to us!



In some ways I cringe to think that my child is playing with such a grotesquely pink toy but at least it's not a doll (although she does like her little doll rattle too). I remember swearing to myself in my psychology of gender class that I would not burden my young children with the artificial boundaries of gender-typed toys that lacerate babies prematurely into their future roles of oppression and artificial duty (for example- I don't believe that baby girls have a predisposition for dolls b/c they are born with such an overwhelming talent for nurturing or baby boys with trains b/c they are natural engineers and providers).

But since the pink poodle is a DOG, I am telling myself that I am teaching my child to love animals and nature! and I keep telling steve that we need to buy Eliza some more cars, trains, and balls.

My discovery of the week is...

a baby sling! We've had this since Eliza was born but when I first tried it the week she was born it really didn't seem like it worked for us (Maybe now that she has more head/neck control or coordination it works better?). So I went out and bought a backpack which she loves and we use a lot for walks.

But this sling that I found on amazon for pretty cheap ($28) works for us now too especially for just around the house activities! It gives me two hands again while letting Eliza still feel close, secure, and pressed against me. And unlike the backpack I can see in front of myself b/c the sling holds eliza lower and more next to me. So this might seem pretty un-extrordinary or ... maybe the word for that would be ordinary, but what this has allowed me to do is COOK again! Yay!

It's impossible to cook with one hand, as many of you moms out there know. But I can be stirring, cooking, pouring, peeling, blending, rinsing, scrounging in the fridge or freezer, setting the table, the list goes on! I was so excited because as many of you know, Eliza can kinda be a needy baby at times, but she loves to just be held and entertained by me (all day long... and sometimes all night long too). So this way I'm "holding" her (hands-free) and entertaining her by doing interesting things with water and food and noisy dishes!

This enabled me this week to make some yummy Rachel Ray Moroccan food for Kate and Steve on Thursday night. We had veggie Boca burgers with Mango Chutney (homemade) on whole-wheat buns and this yummy yogurt, parsley, mint, cucumber, shallot, etc couscous with sliced watermelon on the side- yum! (I didn't slice the watermelon with Eliza in the sling- don't call DSS). Steve actually ended up wearing the sling on Thursday night, and Eliza slept in it through dinner!

But on amazon this sling had all kinds of differnet patterns and designs (that aren't humiliating for Dad to wear also), and I actually learned to wear it even better then is pictured. So fun! Wow, this kinda became a recipe of the week too, sorry guys.