Winter odds and ends

Today we took Gillian on a toboggan for the first time. She loved playing in it and sliding across the beautiful snow we got yesterday and the day before. Even when she wiped out, she was too excited to worry about it. In fact, she was so wired when we got home that she skipped her morning nap in lieu of running around the house like a madwoman, yapping up a storm. Last year she was oblivious to the majesty, and sometimes cabin fever, winter brings. This year, she is drinking it in like a sponge.

I've been sparse around here lately. As I mentioned, life is just complicated and ultra-busy right now. Needless to say, my fascination with Gillian is still complete, and her fascination with the world is amazing, and humbling to observe. I would call this phase the "Kissy-and-still-not-walking" Phase. She kisses everything...and I mean everything. The weirdest thing is my feet (which is a little strange-I always hope she doesn't decide to give them some lovin' in public...say, church, for example, in front of those other parents who might wonder about us). She coos. She pets them like they're the cat ("good feet" I hear her thinking). She kisses them several times in a row, talks to them, and kisses them some more. She kissed her ball in the kitchen today, after an appreciative pat and a few words. Luckily, Sean and I are both the fortunate recipients of clusters of kisses numerous times a day as well. Gillian is a lovebug, and it is so sweet to see her express that. Oh, and she has gotten so freakishly fast at the crab crawl that she still isn't walking and doesn't seem too interested in it, either. She cruises, she pulls up, but that's it.

We're still holding at four teeth and still frustrated with her picky eating (Ha! I remember when I would say, "MY children will eat what I give them!" as if I had some control over the matter (maybe when you can actually reason with your child, that rule could work)...the truth is that you get so desperate for them to eat something that you compromise your previous and extremely well-intentioned but uninformed opinions). Right now she likes (and "likes" just means a piece or two might make it into her mouth, not that she gleefully eats a serving) macaroni and cheese (organic, at least), and cheese, and bread, and peanut butter...and veggie burgers mixed with mashed potatoes and peas (the ONLY vegetables I can get her to eat). She tolerates a few bites of eggs every now and then. She LOVES crackers. Every time we sit down to eat, she points to above the refrigerator where we keep them and says "cack-uh, cack-uh, cack-uh!!" Clearly, she can't have crackers at every meal... Today she even peppered whining with some"mamamamamama". Not sure if she means me, or she just likes the sound. Her three words are "Hi", "cack-uh", and "kuhh" (cheese)..."Mama" might be fourth, but I'll have to get back to you on that. She enunciates "K" for kitty (nothing else), "T" for toes, and "buh" for bottle, bulb (Christmas tree bulb), and ball.

Anyway, I never knew what a struggle it would be to get my child to eat. Last week I was so upset after making her something she completely rejected-and threw on the floor- (without even tasting it) that I left the table and the kitchen, smacking away some tears of utter frustration. I took some deep breaths, came back in, and calmly took the tray away...and cleaned up the food all over the floor. Then she started saying "cack-uh!". *sigh*

I guess at the end of the day, some patches are easier than others, and some babies are more easy going in some ways than others. I mean, Gillian has always permitted us to get excellent sleep, and still goes down like a lamb; she is secure in large groups of people, and will venture away from us to check stuff out without a second thought, she occupies herself extremely well and can play for an hour or more with a intermittent visit every now and then, she is affectionate and thoughtful, and really funny and silly. Oh, and she has never pooped in the bathtub. But obviously, our sticking point is her solid food intake. She ate a lot better when we were feeding her exclusively breastmilk...these days she won't take a bottle from anyone but me, she won't drink whole milk, and all she will tolerate in her sippy cup is water (good ol' calorie-free water). When she has days where she eats pretty much nothing, that can be stressful. Anyway, I find myself of having to make a real effort not to let the food issue become a power issue.

That's a quick update. More to follow!