Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Borrego Springs. We had a great time. Eric bought Danica a little electric quad. She can't peddle her tricycle yet but apparently, a throttle is a lot easier to operate than a set of peddles. Our friends' daughter Kristi spent a lot of time teaching Danica how to ride it. It rained briefly on Thanksgiving day but that wasn't a big deal. It dried up quickly and we still had a delicious dinner. The best part of the rain was the amazing double rainbow that followed. None of us had ever seen one before.
It was really funny that Danica was scared of Eric when he was all geared up. She couldn't get away from him fast enough. I didn't ride my bike this trip. There was something wrong with the idle so I rode the Rhino with Amy. It was hard to believe how well that little vehicle climbed hills and sped over rocks. Scary and super fun.
If you're wondering what Danica is doing, she is doing a handstand with her feet up on the back wall of the trailer. I was impressed with her upper body strength.

Dog Lover

Danica is a dog lover. She spent the whole trip petting, poking, and pulling on Riley (above) and Sandy (below). I finally had to draw the line when she licked Sandy's face.

Men Can Breastfeed

I just read this article. http://blogs.static.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/20193.html

Surprises

My wise friend Emily asked me if I had been surprised by any aspect of motherhood. My habitual and sincere answer since Danica was born was, "No." I reasoned that realistic people of realistic age have realistic expectations. Since then I've been rethinking my knee jerk reply. Now that Danica is almost two, I realized that I can no longer refer to sleepless nights and leaky diapers. These days, every minute is a marvel. It seems like her little brain is developing in a way that I never could have predicted. To watch her encounter a problem for the first time (How can I see what's on the counter?) and then engineer her own solution (I will pull over my chair and stand on it) is a small miracle that I am privileged to witness on a daily basis. Watching her discover her own joy at splashing water at the beach literally made my heart ache with love and gratitude. I am overwhelmed with the responsibility of her experiences. She is a perfect little being with all the potential in the world and at this stage in the game, her father and I are pretty much the only ones who can screw it up. The pressure of the last statement is outweighed only by the melodrama....
I used to tell myself that I was going to stimulate her mind at every opportunity, every "teachable moment." I would practice all the latest and greatest child rearing methods gleaned from the many stacks of books I've read on developmental theory. The reality? I try to socialize her by taking her out in a variety of public settings but she often gets dragged around with me on my errands when I'm in too much of a hurry to let her explore her surroundings. I stifle her curiosity and autonomy with my fascist demands that she not touch things because they are potentially messy or dirty. I often stick her in front of the TV for huge chunks of time so I can get work done. Imagination Movers, Backyardigans, and Back at the Barnyard. Those are her favorite shows where she is least likely to call for me and my business calls must all fit within those three shows each day.
I can't say it's the best I can do but I'm a pragmatist. I am surprised that I have this attitude about my baby, the most precious thing I have ever been responsible for in my life. But I've got at least 16 more years of this responsibility ahead of me and I am only human.

God's Country

We're finding that the city of Corona is super conservative; much more than we knew. The first clue was all the yellow “Yes on 8” signs that popped up like dandelions on everyone’s lawns prior to the election. Neighbors who seemed kind and sane turned out to be raging bigots. Last week Eric went to check out the local library. He likes to check out the financial books and at the HB library, the finance books take up a whole floor. At the Corona library, he found there is only a small section filled with titles like “God and Your Money” or “Financial Freedom through Jesus.” He actually had difficulty finding a secular piece of literature. What did we get ourselves into?
I look forward to January when we will be delivered from the dark age of ignorance and violence. When our government returns to the pursuit of intelligence, science, and tolerance.

Representation

I have been looking for an Asian doll. On the shelves at our local Toys R Us, there are dozens of white dolls, a dozen black dolls, and even a few brown dolls. Asian doll count = 0. I thought we'd have at least one doll on the shelf for this coming holiday season? After all, there might be a few Asian people out there with $30 to spend on a doll.
A quick online search shows my options. If I don't want my doll to look like an alien or a raver, I can expect to spend $60-$90 for a well crafted representation. For any less than that, you get the same stock plastic molded face with slits for eyes. I'm not even going to get into the other idignancy of just how much porn comes up when one types the phrase "Asian doll" into the search bar. (Whole other issue.)

Or maybe we are such the Model Minority, that we aren't expected to complain.

Halloween

Our little fairy didn't go trick or treating. We thought she'd enjoy passing out candy instead. It was just as well that we didn't go out because after about five minutes (just long enough to snap some photos) she was over her costume.

She was great at passing out candy. She loved seeing all the kids in their costumes and even wanted to hug some of the little guys who were her size. She grabbed handfuls of candy and painstakingly got each fist into various pillow cases and buckets. The kids were very patient and sweet.
Throughout the night, Danica kept dumping the candy bucket on the floor so she could pick all the pieces up. I thought this was a great way for her to entertain herself while working on those fine motor skills so I let her have at it. It was this morning while picking through the leftover candy that Eric noticed all the candy had bite marks in them. I don't even want to know what people will be thinking but I'm pretty sure they'll figure out who did it.