Rebecca Wolf

This blog is a chronicle of my daughters' growth - born July 2003 and May 2007. Be sure to check out the Thriving Babies homepage, for videos and instructions on how to use every type of baby carrier. For literacy and homeschooling tips, visit my Rochester-based Learning Center blog at www.SibleyCenter.com.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Go to sleep my Fibblety Fitsey-Foo

One of the benefits of co-sleeping with Arianna is that we get to be there and observe the process of her winding down to go to sleep. Usually, as she is starting to fall asleep she begins to babble. In a sense, I feel like I get a peek inside her wonderful toddler mind.

Tonight, as Arianna was falling asleep she started talking. First, she said "Look both ways, any cars coming? Nooooo! Look the other way, any cars coming? Noooo! Walk with Daddy." I felt relieved to know that all of our propaganda about crossing the street safely is sinking in!

Then, Arianna started to recite snippets of nursery rhymes and stories. She said "Hey, little bear, what are you doing under there? It's time for you to go and choose a story we can share." And, "Georgie Porgie, run away, Georgie Porgie come back soon." I think this one is a compilation of 2 different rhymes.

Arianna talked on and on for 15 minutes. She evenutually trailed off and fell asleep.

If you're wondering what a "Fibblety Fitsey Foo" is, you'll have to read Sandra Boynton's book "Snoozers."

Andrew

P.S. Thank you Stosh and Sandy for entertaining Arianna (and us) yesterday. She has been talking about you both non-stop!

Friday, June 17, 2005

More quotes

Here are some more quotes from Arianna.

Trying to get Daddy to do something:
“Want to go sit on the swing BAAAD.”

To her friends at playgroup:
“Thanks for coming.”

Explanation of what daddy does at work:
“Daddy gives people hugs and sometimes cough drops.”

After burning her hand on the muffin tin:
“Mommy can touch it; Arianna cannot.”

Finally waking mommy up at 7:20 a.m.
“Want some mommy milkies. Want some mommy milkies, PWEEZE?”

Me: Early morning breastfeeding is like hitting the snooze button
(if you're lucky).

Rebecca

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Repost

I don't know why that link didn't show up.

If you want to see the picture, you should be able to access it here: http://www.thrivingbabies.com/kittydress.jpg

Rebecca

Little sayings

Arianna wanted new shorts yesterday. So Andrew put her on the changing table and said, "How about a new diaper first?" To which Arianna replied, "How about no?"

A little later, she was attempting to climb into her crib (which is attached to our bed, like a little sidecar). After thinking a moment, she stopped and said, "That's too risky."

Our neighbor, Marnie, gave Arianna a little bubble bath soap, shaped like a bunny. When Arianna saw that she was holding another box, she asked, "Other one, please?" (Our bath was loaded with bubbles last night!)

Here's a picture of the wise one herself, in an adorable kitty dress from Aunt Sharifa, with matching pants, jacket and kitty puppet (on Arianna's arm). There is a hat, too, but Arianna refuses to wear it. She is standing in front of her doll house, handed down to her from Uncle D.J., who called it a log cabin and filled it with action figures.

Rebecca, who still hasn't planned Arianna's birthday party yet and it is one month away!

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Love's Eclipse

June 14, 2005
Flag Day

I just found out that my mom’s cousin, Georgie, died. I knew he was diagnosed with cancer, but the last time I had heard, the chemo was helping. I was hoping that he would beat it, like he said he would, for his family’s sake as well as his own.

His mother has now lost 4 children and her husband -- one to war and the rest to cancer. Georgie’s encologist asked where he grew up and when he told her, she said that many people who used to live there have developed cancer. My mom said the skies were black with smoke from the local factories, when they went to visit. They live in South Buffalo now, but the move must have been too late. It always amazes me how we take certain things for granted, only to realize later how harmful they are to ourselves and/or the planet. I don’t know how my aunt is going to cope with another loss. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met, and so was her son.

Georgie was the kind of guy who would trap you in a tight bear hug whenever you saw him. He would give you a big, wet kiss and stand a little too close to your face and sincerely ask, “How ARE you?” He was so warm and friendly, it was almost like he was drunk, even though he was always sober. I felt so welcomed and cared about when I went there to visit. He and my aunt would sit down with us at the table and just talk for hours. They dropped everything when we were there, like they had nothing more important to do than just be with us and enjoy our company. I remember how he would always bring out his father’s violin and ask me to play it for him. I remember how hard he worked at his job as a Marine, and then a mechanic and going to college and being a dad. All of his professors said he would make an excellent teacher.

Georgie and his little boy, Trevor, lived with my aunt ever since the boy’s mom went into the psych hospital. Nothing made him happier than taking care of his son. They were always together. I know of so many other fathers who would have just shipped the child off to other relatives, in that situation. But he was determined to be a good dad and to raise his child by himself. He changed every diaper, fed him, and put him down for every nap. He had his own little system down, that he figured out by watching Trevor and attending to his needs. Georgie always had him in his arms whenever I saw them. Trevor is only 8 years old, but he is a good, happy boy.

What happens when a love that strong suddenly disappears from your life?

I remember how devastated I was when my grandmother died. She was the only one I could count on, in my family, and she said she would always be there for me until I didn’t need her anymore. She was like my own guardian angel. We were together so much, she called me her TAIL and would tell everyone, “I can’t go ANYWHERE without my tail.” She said it proudly, with a sly smirk. I knew she loved being with me. I loved being with her. She would hold me in a tight spoon while I went to sleep. She would listen to me read my own stories and she applauded loudly at all of my scratchy violin concerts. I would open my heart to her and tell her everything I felt and thought. When she died, I felt so betrayed. I still needed her, how could she leave me? She said she wouldn’t die until I was ready. How could I ever say goodbye to her? I was 19 when I had to let go of my angel. I can’t imagine being 8.

It seems so unfair that the world can just continue on when such beauty has been lost.

Mournfully,
Rebecca

Monday, June 13, 2005

Lake and land report

Well, it's officially swimming season. It's been hot and muggy for the past week or two and the lake is finally warming up. I took the inner tube out on Saturday and it was heavenly! Andrew dunked Arianna and she was not amused. She prefers her turtle pool, which mommy warms up with water from the kettle. Andrew suggested that I warm up the lake water that way, too. Ha ha.

She does love throwing rocks with Daddy, though. They went down the boat ramp this morning just in time to see two mute swams descend into the water with a grand flutter of wings. They swam right up to the ramp and Arianna wanted to pet them.

I LOVE swans and was sad to have missed it, but was glad for the opportunity to sleep in when Arianna decided to wake up at 6:00 a.m. this morning. We have also seen and heard some loons. I tried to capture their voices on the digital recorder, but I missed them. The lake has been calm and cool this spring, which seems to attract these gorgeous birds.

On the business side of things, we finished taking the last set of photos I needed for my e-book. This is very exciting because I only have some editing work to do and I will be ready to publish. I applied for a grant from www.internetbasedmoms.com to help cover the costs of publishing the e-book and am waiting in crazed anticipation to hear who "won." I feel like such a first-grader, but I could really use the money to get my business ideas going. My project with Andrew is finished, for now. Andrew's mentor just received some earnest money for one of their land deals together and would love to bring home some bacon too.

The eBay auction generated tons of interest and watchers, but no one bid on it. We put it on Craig's List too and got a few calls. The land is wonderful and I can't understand why no one is buying it. I guess it's a lot of money for someone who just wants to build one house, but a bit tricky to subdivide into three lots, unless you're an excavator and can build a road. I guess we will have to come up with Plan C. I know Andrew would love to buy it for himself, but that's not an option right now.

Feel free to drop in if you want to use our little "watering hole."

Rebecca

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Just for you

Arianna said something to me a few days ago that I found rather odd. She was pretending to skateboard on the bed railing (I only know because that's what she told me). Then she looked up at me rather earnestly and said, "Skateboards only for boys."

I was shocked and wasn't sure how to respond. I told her the truth, "Skateboards are for boys and girls. Mommy used to love riding her skateboard when she was a little girl."

She then reiterated, "Skateboards for boys AND girls."

Where did this idea come from? I don't want my daughter to feel like she can't do certain things because she is a girl. Was it possible that she was just experimenting with the "only for" idea because sometimes we tell Arianna, "Cough drops are only for daddies." But that doesn't make sense, because children can't generalize concepts/transfer them to new situations until they are much older (like 4 or 5).

On a more positive note, the warm weather is making the lake ALMOST swimmable. Of course, Andrew the polar bear has taken a few dips already! It was lovely to be down at the water as we watched the crescent moon set.

Too bad swimming in cold water is just for boys....

Rebecca

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Whew!

Arianna has been growing by leaps and bounds and saying insanely cute things. Unfortunately, I am so busy I can't remember any of them. We did have a sad encounter yesterday, when we found a dead songbird on our deck; it must have broke its neck flying into the window. Arianna wanted to hug it and make it feel better, like she does with us (and vice versa). She didn't get the death concept. She and Andrew buried it in our flower garden and she asked if the birdie was asleep. When she woke up today, she asked if I could go and get it. I guess death is rather an abstract concept for a toddler. Hell, I don't even know what I think about it and no one knows what happens after you pass through the veil.

Anyways, back to more mundane matters. I have temporarily put my babywearing ebook writing on hold, even though I am so pathetically close to finishing it. I wouldn't do this without good reason, of course. First, someone has already written a printed book on the subject, so I don't feel like I am letting anyone down by not publishing mine yet. Second, Andrew's real estate investing is going great guns and he needs some reinforcement. We have refined our daily schedule and created a weekly schedule for the house and the business. We also write up a daily to-do list for the real estate business every night after we tuck Arianna in for bed.

I spent the last few days writing the copy for his ebay land auction. You can access it through our ME page at http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/nokomis*group. The land is gorgeous and I hope the ebay exposure will generate a lot of interest in the property, even if it doesn't sell within the ten days. It's difficult to seal a deal in that amount of time, but the leads you get from the auction are invaluable -- you can offer it to the "second chance" bidders if the winning bidder can't pay up.

He is also in the process of closing on another land deal he found in NH. He just got two calls yesterday from two different families in the area who want to sell him their house. Andrew found a great mentor in NH and I think that gave him the confidence and the additional skills he needed to plunge in. I am so very proud of him and I am happy to share in his business. We work well together and have wanted to start a family business for a long time. I would like Arianna to learn how to be an entrepreneur by helping us with our businesses.

It was poor planning on our part to realize we wanted to become entrepreneurs AFTER we had a baby. I haven't been this exhausted since my first trimester! But the rewards of learning a new (and lucrative) skill that we will be able to pass down to our daughter are well worth burning both ends of the candle for awhile. (I promise I'll keep better track of Arianna's developmental milestones, too.)

I haven't written much here about our business ventures and was wondering if this was interesting to folks or if you'd like to go back to the regularly scheduled program?

Thanks for sharing your opinion!
Rebecca