Eluned G. Sharron Bethea » June 2009 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Sun, Jun 28, 2009 10:00 PM
Eluned achieved another milestone today: she took off her own diaper. Ah, summer.

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Wed, Jun 24, 2009 10:00 PM
We're very lucky to have Eluned. We're lucky for a lot of reasons: she's a good sleeper, a great eater. And we're really fortunate because she's so pleasant about going places.

Els was a very companionable baby, but I didn't expect that to continue into the toddler years. However, I've been pleasantly surprised recently. A couple of weeks ago I took Els to a meeting at church. She sat patiently on my lap for a long time, and then she played quietly next to me for the rest of the meeting.

Then this past weekend I took Els with me to get my hair cut. She stayed with me in the Ergo through the whole thing, even while my hair was being washed. For the actual haircut, we tucked the cape around her shoulders -- and she let us, and she stayed underneath it for most of the haircut. Els just sat and listened and watched Alyssa and watched the other hairdressers and customers. She was very interested in the hair dryers, although when it came time to dry my hair I held the cape up to shield her because she didn't like it that close.

Oddly enough, Els seems to do better on these outings when she's tired (but not overtired). One of the reasons I took her with me for my haircut was that she hadn't had her nap yet, despite our best efforts. Sure enough, she slept in the car on the way there and was contented on my lap the whole time.

Mostly, though, when out with unfamiliar people Els continues to be a patient, serious, observant little girl, just as she was as a baby.

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Sarah: No battles of wills? She's an exceptional child, or you're exceptional parents--but in truth, I suspect both to be the case.

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Sun, Jun 21, 2009 10:00 PM
Eluned rode in the shopping cart proper instead of the little seat up front for the first time today. She was delighted. I'm not sure Els can see more from the cart than from the seat, but she has a lot more options: she can sit or stand and turn in any direction. And she can, and did, play with all the stuff I put in the cart.

This all came about because Els started to climb out of the little seat, so I deposited her in the cart. She can't yet climb out of the cart; I'm certain of this because she tried.

We had a few bumps but Els took them in stride, and I learned to say "hang on" before we started moving again.

By the end of the first store Els realized that she can reach things from the cart. By the end of the third store Els picked up a couple of things up as we passed by (batteries); I had to offer Els her sippy cup of juice in trade to get them back.

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Aunt Marilyn: I remember when Matthew Sharron was about Eluned's age and was grabbing things out of other shopping carts as we passed by. One woman actually accused us of trying to steal the choice piece of meat she had chosen. Be aware, and don't get too close to the other carts.

Sarah: Thou hast unleashed a shopper! Did she, by any chance, snag a can of olives?

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Sat, Jun 20, 2009 9:00 PM
Eluned is a true child of the McCormick and Sharron lines. Tonight she ate black olives by the handful. I put a few on her tray as an afterthought, but she ate those so quickly I gave her more; when she stuffed those in her mouth I just gave her most of the rest of the olives off my salad.

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Poppa & Nana: Great Grandfather McCormick (also known as Poppa to his grandchildren) would not be surprised; you will recall that Els mother used to share a whole can of black olives with her Poppa - even the olives she put on each finger!

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Wed, Jun 17, 2009 9:00 PM
Eluned is very attached to nursing. It's sweet.

We nurse when we get home at the end of the day and again before bed. Els nurses to sleep. And we're still doing what's called night-nursing (which is exactly what it sounds like) but by now Els and I are old pros and it (usually) hardly interrupts our sleep.

The early evening nursing is often short, but Els has the routine down: I sit on the couch, surround myself with throw pillows, and then Els settles on my lap. She might play for a few minutes after we get home, as long as I don't go anywhere near the couch. But as soon as I approach the couch she comes right over, and heaven forbid we don't start nursing right away. Recently, on some nights Els comes home, goes straight to the couch and waits for me. Not for long though -- she expects me to follow her.

This week I've changed up the routine by nursing upstairs in the office after work. The first night, Els knew it was time to nurse, so she went to the little couch in the office and set out a throw pillow for me.

Comments:
Sarah: Mama's little helper....

The nursing routine sounds a lot like what Indian mothers in my village did. It was a firm bonding experience and vital to the children's nutrition. You could always tell when the child stopped nursing, because of weight loss and less energy--their diet was rice and vegetables. Some couldn't handle the spiciness.

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Tue, Jun 16, 2009 9:00 PM
Update on a couple of previous playground posts ...

Over the weekend Eluned climbed back up the play structure at church. This time, instead of turning right and climbing to the very top, she turned left onto the middle platform, the one that's about waist-high on me. She walked to the end of the platform, looked around, sat down -- and then slid down the slide all by herself!

And then last night, we all went for a walk. Will carried Els in the Ergo. We walked across the street to the playground and Will went for a swing in the big kid swing with Els. She loved it.

Comments:
Sarah: So long...we're off to join the circus!

Nana: It's so amazing to me to "watch" how her mind works. No doubt that she is thinking all of the time!

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Thu, Jun 11, 2009 10:00 PM
Eluned has figured out that Will and I sometimes have better drinks than she does.

We get these things we call "grapefruit sodas" -- they're soda water and fruit juice, mostly grape and grapefruit. Els is mad for them. She'll find the bottles and carry them around the house, even if they're empty. It quickly got to where we couldn't drink them in front of her. We started pouring them into cups, and that worked for a few weeks, but Els figured that one out too.

Now she insists on sampling anything we're drinking. I think she started out checking for grapefruit soda, but now she's found other drinks she likes almost as much, or at least more than her sippy cups of whole milk or water. There are a handful of drinks we won't share, mostly caffeinated; thankfully she is not interested in our mugs of coffee yet. Most of her discoveries are various juice blends.

Last night she pointed at my big cup of milk for a taste. Satisfied that it was just milk, Els went back to her sippy cup. Tonight we both had milk again, but she wouldn't drink it from her sippy cup after she tried mine. She polished off my cup instead.

Comments:
Sarah: I keep thinking of Eluned as one of those children whose mind and spirit mature faster than their bodies do. She's "just" a toddler, but in some ways she's got the ego strength and determination of a much older child. Plus I suspect she's quite bright. Speaking from experience, that makes childhood both exciting and fun on the one hand and scary and challenging on the other, for both parents and child as well. Hang on for the ride, kids!

It wasn't until young adulthood that my daughter's physical and social maturity caught up to her mental abilities and everything started to work in synch. Sort of. Sometimes I still wonder...but then, I wonder about myself, too. Do any of us "grow up"?

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Sun, Jun 7, 2009 9:00 PM
Eluned climbed all the way to the top of the play structure at church this morning. (I'm not sure how tall it is but the top platform is well over my head.) She wasn't quite prepared to follow the other kids down the curving slide, though. She watched them go down. She thought about it. She went back and forth on the platform a few times. And then she climbed carefully all the way back down.

Comments:
Sarah: I can just see you, down below, ready to spread your arms wide and catch her. She seems so solid in herself, so determined to explore, and so confident that all will be well.

Nana & Poppa: "No mountain too high, no valley to wide, no ocean to deep..." - just like her Mother.

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Fri, Jun 5, 2009 11:00 PM
Eluned loves shoes. I don't know that she loves shoes the way Rev. Anne loves shoes, at least not yet, but they seem to be some of her favorite things lately.

Els can say "shoes" now. She can also say "socks," but not as clearly. Els will point at shoes of all sizes, even Will's size 12s, and say "shoes."

When we go to the park, Els wants to play with the shoes that the other kids kick off around the playground. She picks up Will's and my shoes and carries them around the house.

Els will bring over my shoes and put them down next to my feet. If I don't put them on right away, she will tug at my leg.

Some of her love of shoes may stem from the association Els has discovered between shoes and her favorite thing of all, "outside." Els has learned that before we go outside, we all put on shoes. So she may bring me my shoes in an experiment to see if this can lead to a trip outside. But the connection with outside doesn't explain all of her fascination with shoes.

Comments:
Kate: Sarah, you're psychic. Or brilliant. Or both. Els has also started carrying around a small bag, usually with her cell phone in it.

Sarah: She's a smart little girl and no doubt has worked out the logical chain of events. Shoe attachment would make sense, since shoes are close to the ground and so is she. Next comes the purse...and the backpack and....

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Mon, Jun 1, 2009 9:00 PM
Eluned asked for a Kleenex last night. Well, not in so many words; she pointed at the box, but her meaning was clear.

Els is not a big fan of having her nose or face wiped by me or Will. But she has been paying attention, and now when she gets a Kleenex or napkin she will dab at her own face.

Occasionally Els will fall asleep, still nursing, in an odd position and milk will come out of her nose. Last night she woke up again, sat up and starting rubbing her face. I asked her if she wanted a Kleenex. She pointed at the box so I gave her one. She took it and wiped off her own face.

Also, when I picked her up at Bertha's tonight Daniel (Bertha's husband) told me what a good job Els did today with washing her hands. Turns out Bertha and her family have been working on that with Els recently.

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