Smarty Pants

I've always known my little Bean was a smart one, even since before she started speaking in sentences at 18 months and, more recently, counted to 100 and memorized all the verses of Psalm 100. She exhibits her intelligence, not by showing off nor with any sort of smugness, but by letting it seep out in her conversation and play with the sort of innocence only a small person can muster. She especially surprises me when I hear her at play in her room, creating dialogue between two toys or between herself and Tasha, her imaginary friend. She's her cleverest and most creative when she is alone, without the possibility of correction or judgement from others.
Two small incidents today really drove home the reality that she does absorb the little facts and tidbits that Eddie and I share with her daily about her surroundings. Like many parents, we really try to tell her as much as we know about whatever subject comes up and her curious little mind gobbles up and tucks away all these precious scraps of knowledge like a squirrel gathering nuts.
One of the toys she received for Christmas was a highly coveted (by her) Barbie Island Princess Doll holding what we assumed was a fox, myself having never seen the movie. After finally dismantling the packaging (seriously, are you kidding me? they spend more money to package these things than on the toys themselves!) I read in the instructions that her pet was actually a panda. I began to explain, "Actually, it says here that the 'fox' is a panda. There are other types of pandas besides the black and white kind." To be honest, I couldn't even remember what they were called, and was trying to think of the name when Naomi said, "Yeah, you mean a Red Panda." Of course, how foolish of me to assume that my 4-year-old didn't know about Red Pandas! If I had given her a few more minutes, she probably could have told me what they eat and where they live.



Later, she and I were having lunch consisting of grilled cheese and tomato soup. I told her she'd have to do more than just dip her sandwich in the soup - she had to take bites of it. "It's your vegetable, so if you don't eat it I'll have to find you another vegetable," I told her, thinking carrots or peas.
"The soup isn't a vegetable!" she said, laughing.
"Well, what do you think tomato soup is made of? Tomatoes! And they're a vegetable, silly!" I said to her.
"No," she replied, "tomatoes are fruit!"
And if you'll think back to science class you may remember learning that the part of the plant that contains the seeds is the fruit - a fact that we undoubtedly imparted to her at some point. Despite her well played argument, I still made her eat several bites of her fruit soup.


And about my "fountain of milk" Sylvia Plath reference - it's actually a "RIVER" of milk in the poem (which still applies! I have an astounding milk supply it seems!) I pulled it out the other day to read - what an amazing piece of writing. As the title suggests, the poem is about three women, and comes from each of their "voices" or points of view inside a maternity ward. I first read it before Naomi was born and loved it then, but now that I have carried, birthed, and raised children it means even more to me.
I changed the title of the blog to include Elliot as well. "Elsworth" is the nickname my brain latched on to for her. Usually I just call her Elles. I don't know why sometimes a name just feels right, but I have experienced the phenomenon (and lack thereof) multiple times with nicknames and the naming of pets, etc. Elsworth just fits, and I usually think or say it in a British accent as well. Reminds me of the dream I had when I was pregnant with Naomi, in which she was about three months old and started talking in sentences with a British accent. She said, "Mummy, may I please have some juice?" and I called my mom and said, "Mom! The baby can talk! And she's British!"

I am a fountain of milk...

I think that's a line from Sylvia Plath's, "Three Women." Wherever my brain picked it up, it's true. Baby Elliot was born last Wednesday, November 21st. She is a week old! Amazing. I am now a mother of two - a challenge I know many have faced before me, and that gives me courage! Eddie's mom had four children and not much support, so she certainly paved some sort of way for those of us who are facing the slightly daunting task of caring for two very precious and very different lives at the same time. Speaking of Nancy, it is in her honor that we bestowed Elliot with her middle name. Elliot Nancy is truly blessed to have such a devoted Nana.
Ahhhh, mothers. I love my mom so much. I found after having Naomi, and again with Elliot, that I really crave my mother's support above anyone else's when I am most vulnerable. Eddie and I both have incredible mothers. The girls and I are spending the day at my parents' house tomorrow, and I am pretty thrilled. Maybe I'll even get a little scrapbooking done - Naomi took a rockin' trip to Disney World back in September, and it demands to be documented!
Well, I'll have to beg your pardon, as Miss Elliot is stirring and I am at her beck and call.

Hurray for Damask! And a funny from Bean.

Lately I've been on a quest to "interior decorate" my house. It's been a very neglected aspect of my life the past year, and the saddest part is that I am really, really passionate about interiors! So although my budget is very modest, my house is very small, and as a renter I have virtually no options for wall treatments, I am feeling optimistic and my nesting instinct has been a real asset this past month or two.
One of the rooms that has been somewhat neglected from a "decorating" standpoint is Naomi's. We keep buying pieces with no overall guiding color scheme. She has modular, stacking "cube" components with fabric covered "Bins" to hold her insane amount of toys, and she has a new bed and a REALLY fun comforter from West Elm in a very cheery, modern hot pink and tangerine damask, but her walls are humbly outfitted in a peeling, yellowed rosebud wallpaper - how can one be wholehearted about decorating a space with such a wretched backdrop? Anyhow, I have been hunting for some bedding for the new girl (who will be arriving any week now!) and was hoping to continue the theme of grown up patterns in fun colors, and was secretly hoping to happen upon something darling in a Kelly green (no such luck so far) but I DID find this set from Target online:


Wow! In a market saturated with pastels, and the only appealing designs I've found being way out of my price range, this $149 set got me really excited. Plus, I can easily mix in poppier colors to coordinate with Naomi's bed, plus add some black to her bedding to make the two more cohesive. So if anyone has seen any kelly green, hot pink, or tangerine crib sheets or bed skirt, let me know!
In the meantime, I have the task before me of convincing Eddie that we really DO need more crib bedding, even though we have Naomi's set to use (and though I still love the Cicely Mary Barker flower fairy quilt that was handmade to my specifications by his generous great-aunt, it just doesn't fit in AT ALL with Naomi's things!) I understand his sensibilities regarding making do with what we have, and I appreciate that side of him, HOWEVER... I have a growling, hungry beast inside me that constantly craves good design, and it's hard to ignore it!!!! Somewhere, there's got to be a middle ground, and we're working toward it in other rooms of the house.

The second half of this post is about something funny that Naomi said about a month or so ago. We were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast, and she kept staring at a Motherhood Maternity bag I had sitting on the table. It was slightly slouched and crumpled, and apparently she was trying to figure out what the image was on the side. She asked if it was a dinosaur, and I replied,
"No, it's a woman, see? Here's her ponytail, and here's her belly - she's pregnant."
"Is that a store for pregnant people?" she asked.
"Yeah - they sell clothes for pregnant people."
She got this impressed look on her face, and said, "Huh, big fat clothes. Cool."

Almost two months later...

And she's still alive! So much has been going on. I sold the zB. (Huge, tremendous, inexpressable relief). I am about to have me another baby (huge, tremendous, inexpressable belly). We're getting our humble home sorted out, and it's pretty fun. Naomi is loving school. Christmas is coming before we know it. I found these amazingly cute clothes (handmade and a little expensive) online, and I can't stop thinking about buying one of these jackets and a pair of these trousers for the Bean. She loves them, too. But we usually buy our clothes off the $5 rack at Children's Place, so the prices are making me a bit dizzy - especially since she grows like a weed, already she can wear size 5! Anyhow, here they are (click the link if you want to see more goodies from this designer).
http://store.shoporangebutton.com/baby.html This little cropped jacket is pictured with the trousers... I love it so much on the models, and can just imagine how sweet it would look on Naomi...

Check it out.. I liked the red trousers, but Naomi is all about the pink plaid. And you know what? The more I think about it, the more I agree with her.

This is my favorite. I love the combination of patterns and colors - like something a small person would have chosen. I can't get over it! I think if I ever give in and order, I'll go with the red jacket and pink plaid pants, exactly like this adorable model is wearing. Oh, how I wish I could sew!

First Day of School!

I will have to add the picture later, but I couldn't wait to blog about Naomi's first day of school.
She has been excited all weekend, which is a good sign. She hates Sunday school because I don't stay in the room with her (she's not a shy kid, but she definitely feels more comfortable with grown-ups than other kids so far). So I was delighted that she was looking forward to school so much. We got her into the classroom and hung her jacket and backpack in her little cubby, hung her nametag around her neck, said hello to her teacher, got her situated at the sand table, hugged her, and headed out! It was too easy to be true. She told us when we picked her up that she cried a tiny bit after we left, but I don't even think the teacher noticed because she told Beth (who also teaches there now) that Naomi did really well. Of course the whole ride home I pummeled her with questions about school but she was pretty vague and tight-lipped about most of it. I had this insane desire to spend the entire school day with my face pressed up against the glass part of her classroom door, but I guess I'll just have to find out about her days based on what she feels like telling me!!!
I have a good feeling about this school. I can't wait to see and hear about what Naomi learns there, and who knows? Maybe by the time she's in eighth grade, they'll have a high school!

I'm a bad, bad blogger...

So pretty much it's been over a month since I updated the general public on the awesomeness of the Bean. So sorry about that! A lot has been happening. First of all - we had her birthday party. Yeah, it was a luau. Pretty good stuff. We also found out that the baby is a GIRL! Yay for girls! Girls rule the world! Ok, so I would have been excited for a boy too! Anyhow, Naomi wants to name her Ella. This was on my list of names, so I don't mind that she likes it so much, but Eddie is not on board with that one. He likes "Elanor" (no, I didn't misspell it... it's the hobbit spelling... yes, I did say hobbit.... no, I'm not pulling your leg...) Anyhow, I am not a big huge fan of this choice, but I did try to compromise with "Elanora." That way Naomi and I could have our Ella and Eddie can have his Elanor. I think I have the middle name whittled down, but "SHHHH!" it's a secret!
Other names I like, but Eddie is objecting to, are Greta, Bianca, Darla, hmmm... what else.... Charlotte, Meredith (Eddie likes this one OK but try saying it out loud with "fridley"... not so good.)
There are about 1/2 million names I like, so we're bound to settle on one we can all handle. :)
Bye bye friendy friends!

Two Funnies

Last night at the fireworks, Naomi was utterly fascinated by the sparklers she kept seeing in the hands of the other children. She asked a lot of questions about them, and here's my favorite:
"Mama, do those sparklers have fire on the end of them while they're in the pack?"
The whole fireworks experience was really fun for her. The whole way there, she was murmuring her delight to her stuffed bunny, and the whole way home, she said proper little things like, "I had the most wonderful time, " and "these were the greatest fireworks ever..."
The other thing I don't want to forget is the other day we were laying in my bed (I told you that's when the funny things happen!) and the following exchange occurred:
Naomi: Mama, your belly is getting very stiff.
Me: Just wait - it is going to get WAAAAAY bigger.
Naomi: Yeah, like as big as this whole room!!!
Me: Well... not quite that big (chuckle).