She wrote a song
This just can't be normal. Are 18-month-olds supposed to make up their own songs? Her first one went something like this:
We go shopping
And we buy white socks
And purple socks, too
She serenaded me with it while she ate dinner tonight. Then I realized she stuck purple socks into the cart, in the wrong size. You know how it feels silly to go back to a store to exchange one pair of socks? So you wind up keeping them for five years until finally realizing that, no, you're never going to meet someone who needs this particular pair of size 3-4 1/2 purple socks, so you stick them in a donation bag? Is that just me?
Anyway, this week has been all about questions. Sarina is asking whatever's on her mind now-- "What's that noise?" "Is something wrong?" "Aunt Pat, what are you doing with the saw?" "How 'bout pancakes?"
She also has shown her first fear: the door. When someone walks in the door without knocking or ringing the bell, she screams, "Mommy! Mommy!" and runs to me for protection. It's so sad to see her get this nervous, and the only thing any of us can figure that might have triggered this is Elmo's World-- an episode where Elmo hears things behind a door and opens the door to find out what's making the noises. That's the first time we saw her get really freaked out by a door opening. She ran behind a chair and shook while Elmo opened the door.
We're in the process of moving now. Actually, we moved into our new place already, but it's still a work-in-progress. It's been a challenge, but we're definitely getting there. I'm slowly getting furniture on Craigslist and at garage sales, mostly, and I got all new carpets put in last week. I wasn't able to finish painting before the carpets went in, though, so I still have a good deal of painting left to do.
The first decorative item I bought is something I really love, though. It's this:
Our new neighbors are great. One already had me over for lunch, and the couple next door have grandkids who played so wonderfully with Sarina. When she went in for a nap, they actually hung around waiting, eagerly asking me if she could come back out and play when she got up. These are elementary school-age kids-- it's so touching to see them pay attention to a toddler, and she really loved them. All I heard that night was, "Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!" Hmm. Perhaps I have failed wih my "Boys are icky and you should not even look at them until you are 25" lesson.
I got to introduce Sarina to Celine Dion before a concert last week, too. We hung out in her dressing room, where Sarina promptly stole whatever she could grab of Celine's makeup. Celine is always a good sport, though, and said, "She's a girl! She's supposed to like makeup," and put lipgloss on Sarina, who kept checking herself out in the dressing room mirror and grinning.
A photographer took professional pictures of us ("us" being my parents, brother, brother's friend Jacqueline, Sarina, and me), but I don't have them yet. I do have a few pics from Jacqueline, though-- this one's my favorite.
OH. And The Marilyn Monroe Treasures arrived! It's scheduled to be in stores by November 6, but I got my author copies this week, and they look pretty amazing. I love working on this series of books-- you can't help but feel proud to be a part of something that looks so darn pretty. The designer picked a perfect last shot, too-- Marilyn puckering up for a kiss, looking like she's kissing the reader goodbye. I hope the serious fans will like this book. I think they will.
Another gratuitous Sarina picture:
I think this is the last picture taken of us in our old house (on an autotimer). That feels significant somehow.
We go shopping
And we buy white socks
And purple socks, too
She serenaded me with it while she ate dinner tonight. Then I realized she stuck purple socks into the cart, in the wrong size. You know how it feels silly to go back to a store to exchange one pair of socks? So you wind up keeping them for five years until finally realizing that, no, you're never going to meet someone who needs this particular pair of size 3-4 1/2 purple socks, so you stick them in a donation bag? Is that just me?
Anyway, this week has been all about questions. Sarina is asking whatever's on her mind now-- "What's that noise?" "Is something wrong?" "Aunt Pat, what are you doing with the saw?" "How 'bout pancakes?"
She also has shown her first fear: the door. When someone walks in the door without knocking or ringing the bell, she screams, "Mommy! Mommy!" and runs to me for protection. It's so sad to see her get this nervous, and the only thing any of us can figure that might have triggered this is Elmo's World-- an episode where Elmo hears things behind a door and opens the door to find out what's making the noises. That's the first time we saw her get really freaked out by a door opening. She ran behind a chair and shook while Elmo opened the door.
We're in the process of moving now. Actually, we moved into our new place already, but it's still a work-in-progress. It's been a challenge, but we're definitely getting there. I'm slowly getting furniture on Craigslist and at garage sales, mostly, and I got all new carpets put in last week. I wasn't able to finish painting before the carpets went in, though, so I still have a good deal of painting left to do.
The first decorative item I bought is something I really love, though. It's this:
Our new neighbors are great. One already had me over for lunch, and the couple next door have grandkids who played so wonderfully with Sarina. When she went in for a nap, they actually hung around waiting, eagerly asking me if she could come back out and play when she got up. These are elementary school-age kids-- it's so touching to see them pay attention to a toddler, and she really loved them. All I heard that night was, "Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!" Hmm. Perhaps I have failed wih my "Boys are icky and you should not even look at them until you are 25" lesson.
I got to introduce Sarina to Celine Dion before a concert last week, too. We hung out in her dressing room, where Sarina promptly stole whatever she could grab of Celine's makeup. Celine is always a good sport, though, and said, "She's a girl! She's supposed to like makeup," and put lipgloss on Sarina, who kept checking herself out in the dressing room mirror and grinning.
A photographer took professional pictures of us ("us" being my parents, brother, brother's friend Jacqueline, Sarina, and me), but I don't have them yet. I do have a few pics from Jacqueline, though-- this one's my favorite.
OH. And The Marilyn Monroe Treasures arrived! It's scheduled to be in stores by November 6, but I got my author copies this week, and they look pretty amazing. I love working on this series of books-- you can't help but feel proud to be a part of something that looks so darn pretty. The designer picked a perfect last shot, too-- Marilyn puckering up for a kiss, looking like she's kissing the reader goodbye. I hope the serious fans will like this book. I think they will.
Another gratuitous Sarina picture:
I think this is the last picture taken of us in our old house (on an autotimer). That feels significant somehow.
