I just love this song, heard it again tonight and wanted to share it with you.
30 Months
November 6, 2009 By
Our dear, sweet, smiley daughter turned 30 months old yesterday. She’s 2 1/2 and very much the typical toddler. She is 35 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds, although I swear she weighs more than that! Here are some of the things she is doing:
- She is obsessed with Chinese lion/dragons and pretends that she is one by beating on a drum. My parents entertain her on Skype by dangling a Chinese dragon that they bought in Chinatown.
- There are three girls from her pre-preschool class that she loves to ‘talk’ about. She even knows who their mothers are when we see them in the parking lot (sans child). She is incredibly smart with remembering names and faces. I know this will come in handy some day.
- She knows me and John’s real names. And sometimes she will call us by that.
- She can count to 10 by herself and almost to 20 if we help her a little.
- She knows most of the words to several favorite childhood nursery songs. Her favorite is ‘Baa baa black sleep’ and no, that’s not a typo. That’s how she says it.
- She sings the ABC’s.
- She is starting to venture out and play with other kids when we are in a group setting (which makes me very, very happy).
- But she still has her clingy moments.
- She can be very bossy. And her defiance can be breathtaking at times.
- Her tantrums have eased quite a bit but sometimes if she doesn’t get her way or if she gets frustrated she starts to cry. I would rather her cry than throw a fit.
- She still has serious sibling rivalry issues with Chief, Shadow, and Deuce.
- She can play with tupperware and plastic bottles with caps in the bathtub for hours.
- She no longer has an interest in her baby dolls but she seems to like puzzles and blocks more now.
- She now thinks it’s okay to write with her crayons on anything other than paper.
- She wants to go to school and by Friday she is asking to go (she goes on Monday & Wednesday).
- Her favorite books are the Biscuit the dog series.
- She drags books up to us and says, ‘Read to me!’
- She has some books memorized. Her memory astounds me sometimes.
- She has a funny sense of humor which is starting to really emerge.
- She covers her ears anytime a plane or helicopter goes over. The Blue Angels were here over the weekend and they were super loud. So now, even if she hears the faint buzz of a plane going by she covers her ears.
- When she sees someone she knows and likes, she will run up to them with one arm in the air. It’s funny to watch!
- When one of us comes home, she will run up to the door and squeal like our dog Shadow does.
- If we hurt ourselves or make a funny noise, she will say, ‘Are you okay?’ or ‘What happened?’ with a look of concern. She will then kiss the ‘owie’ and say, ‘Mommy feels much better now.’
- She now runs all over the house screaming our names non-stop. I have to tell her stop sometimes because it drives me a bit crazy. It’s ironic to say that because when we were waiting for her, I couldn’t wait to hear those words and now, well…sometimes I have to tell her to stop using my name in vain.
) - If I’m in the bathroom and have the door closed, she will stick her face to the ground and say, ‘I see your toes!’ and then proceeds to stick her hands or toes under the door.
- When we put her to bed, she says ‘Ni Hao, Zia Gian, Night Night’ like it’s one long salutation.
- Her favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, soup, Nutella sandwiches, shrimp, and corn. Anything other than that and we have to bribe her to eat with jello and popsicles. Or we have to say, ‘Baby dragons love to eat baby carrots!’ Although that doesn’t always work.
- The Love and Logic discipline strategies don’t work quite yet but 1-2-3 Magic does!
- When she gets bored, for instance at a restaurant, or if she is in time out, she will say that she has to go to the potty even though she really doesn’t. It about drives me nuts. We are starting to catch on and will take her once but after that we tell her she has to wait. If she is in time-out she doesn’t get to go until her time-out is over and by that time she has decided she doesn’t need to go after all.
- She can sit and watch you-Tube videos of dragon dancers or of her new baby cousin for hours if we let her.
- Since we don’t let her watch Yo-Gabba Gabba any longer (she got waaaaaaaaaaay to obsessed with it), her new favorite show is the Wonder Pets. She can even sing the song for you.
I was looking at her tonight as I was singing her her nighttime songs and I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad that her birth parents are missing out on such a brilliant, funny, personable child. I wish there was some way that I could just tell them all about her. I hope that one day we can.
At 2 1/2, she never ceases to amaze me. She also wears me out pretty quickly but she her smiles and spontaneous hugs make up for all of the craziness. We just love her and now we are pretty sure that she loves us. It’s a good feeling.
Harvist Holiday Photos- Part 1
November 4, 2009 By
I need to add a photo of our 37 pound pumpkin and our collection of harvest holiday photos would be nearly complete. I am totally loving the arts and crafts that Catherine comes home with. There have been so many cute Halloween and autumnish crafts for us to adoringly display on our refrigerator. So, I thought I would add some of her craft collection to our collection of harvest holiday photos- part 1.
Now aren’t these little pumpkin crafts just too cute for words? Well, to me they just are! I am keeping all of Catherine’s crafts from her first year in school. So far, October has been my favorite month yet.
I have a little corner of the counter in my kitchen that I like to decorate for each holiday. I wish I could afford to decorate my whole house, but for now, this will have to do. I have found some cute little items over the years to add to the Harvest/Thanksgiving corner. Two of these little guys are animals made from sticks, pine cones, and straw. They are just adorable!
This is the other side of my counter. I found this pumpkin arrangement at Hobby Lobby for cheap one year. I just loved it. I also buy themed wraps to go around the base of the plant that is hanging out on the corner of the counter. I like to do my counter up big! It makes me happy to be able to celebrate each season in some way…even if it’s a small way. I just can’t wait until Catherine grows up a bit more and will be able to help me with decorating that area.
More Harvest Holiday Photos coming soon!
I Know You Are Only Here For This
November 1, 2009 By
We did the ‘Trunk or Treat’ event at our church. I think it’s way more fun than having to go door to door asking for candy. The kids get to play games, jump on the jumpies, watch a movie, face painting, snacks, and more. So, I thought this was a better alternative for us this year. Catherine seemed to enjoy herself. We let her have some candy, but I think it ended up being too much and just had a tremendous sugar rush and then a big crash. Not pretty at all! But here are some super cute photos of her from the event. The rest of the photos have been published to Facebook, so you can see them there if you are a friend of mine. If not, just friend me: Wendy Chang Norris. Please let me know that you read my blog. That way I know who you are. Thanks!
This is My Life
August 21, 2009 By
I am not going to lie to you. My life is not perfect. My life is full of stressors, many I have chosen and some I have not. Most days I like a packed schedule, but I really enjoy my downtime as well. I am driven, especially when it’s something I am passionate about, however, I have a lazy streak that can sometimes get the better of me. I enjoy my family and friends more than anything but sometimes I let my work take precedence, although I try not to let that happen to often. I enjoy my work more than I do any hobby. I would rather be doing something for my organization, or the other organizations that I assist, more than I would like to be scrapbooking, or reading (except for blogs), or painting, or watchiing TV. I do try to dabble in some of those hobbies in order to stay well-rounded but at the end of the day, after my daughter is down for the night, I would rather catch up on blogs or play WII with my husband.
Work isn’t my whole life though. It doesn’t make up my full identity.
I have other roles as well, such as wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend. All of these roles have responsibilities and actions that are attached to them. And though for some on the outside looking in, it would seem that the work that I do makes up for most of my day, it really doesn’t. Right now, most of my day is filled with taking care of Catherine and John. Ever since we adopted Catherine (17 months), we have kept her home with us. She didn’t go to daycare or to school and we rarely had a babysitter (when we did it she was watched by dear friends of ours that have loved her like their own). The only time I have been able to do my work is when she is sleeping, so nap times are packed full of conference calls, and more phone calls. After she goes to bed, I catch up on everything else that has to do running my organization. Sometimes I’m up until midnight trying to catch up. I’m not complaining though, I chose this life and I love this life.
Our family also has an interesting dynamic because of John’s career as a firefighter. His work schedule has him on shift for only 9 days (full 24 hour days though) a month. The rest of the time he is home. The last 7 months or so he did have a lot of overtime that he had to work which really put the squeeze on our schedules and tired me out quite a bit. Lately though, the overtime has slowed down and we spend most of our days as a full family unit. His schedule and the flexability of his position has allowed me to pursue my dreams in running an organization that means so much to me. I have been so blessed to have a husband that is willing to watch Catherine full time on some days so that I can travel when needed and also gives me the time and space to work at peace for a few hours during the week. If I’m not with Catherine, he is. And on most days, it’s all three of us living out this life together. We are definitely not your typical 9-5 family.
The downside of trying to be the best wife and mother that I can be and to be somewhat of a leader within the fire service is that I do get tired easily. And when I get really tired, I tend to get sick. I tend to go, go, go and then I crash. I think part of that comes from the emergency services mentality and way of life. It’s still engrained into the very fabric of my beiing. I really have to be in tune with my body and I have to watch how it reacts to the schedule I put together. If I start to feel as if I am slipping, I pretty much have to put the rest of my activities on hold. Unfortunately this can mean giving up time with friends or doing other activities that I enjoy. It can also make me a bit of recluse at times because somedays I’m on overload with the emotions that come with working crisis interventions, traumatic deaths and then raising a high-needs child. On those overload days I tend to curl up in a ball on the couch and just
veg. It also means that there are stretches of days where they only conversations that I have with my friends and family are through text messages and facebook comments. Lucky for me, my loved ones understand that about me and love and accept me anyway.
The upside to my life is that I am incredibly blessed with rich experiences, many that are once in a lifetime opportunities. I get to travel all over the United States and have been around the world. I have met some incredible people, many I get to call friends. Most days I can’t believe I get to do the work that I do and that it has increased in a way over the last two years that has deeply blessed me. Everyday I am in awe of the fact that I have an awesome husband and a daughter that is amazing. I have been blessed with deep and meaningful friendships.
I absolutely love my life. But, just because I love my life doesn’t mean that I don’t experience the occassional burnout or dissapointment. Just because I choose to continue to work (mostly from home) while I am raising a child doesn’t mean that I can’t express my frustrations about being tired or run down sometimes.
My blog is a place where I like to share my experiences, especially so that my family and friends that don’t live near us can keep up with what we are doing. I also like to get advice for issues that I face from those who have ‘been there, done that.’ But please, if I decide to vent about my busy schedule, or talk about feeling tired or sick, please don’t tell me that I need to give something up. I have already given up more in this life than is even fair. If I ask for advice on how to keep myself healthy while I travel, please don’t tell me to slow down. My life slowed way down after I was injured fighting a fire. Life is incredibly short. I have witnessed that first hand many, many times. I want to lead a full life and not miss opportunites. Trust me, I slow down. Just, please let me vent!
I have had a nice blog break but I have missed it tremendously. I’m glad to be back and am looking forward to sharing the rest of the year with you.
