GILLY LOVES JULIE!!!

I love that Gillian loves Anna and Julie. Every day when I come home from work, the house is filled with laughter and happy chatter. The girls love to paint...paper and eachother!

Young

There was a moment today when I realized that I couldn't wait until Gillian woke up so we could go to the playground. I love how she lights up when you say, "Gilly, do you want to go to the Park?!? To the swing?!? On the slide!?!". It occurred to me that there was nothing I would rather be doing than swinging next to her, bouncing on the jungle gym bridge while singing, or sliding down the slide next to her and racing back to the stairs to do it again! We made a sand castle. We laid on our backs in the grass and looked up at the sky. Gillian makes me remember the joy of being in the moment in the most basic sense. I guess I never realized how much I would love just hanging out with my girl, and I'm counting my blessings. People use to always tell me, "this is the best time of your life" as I was growing up. I beg to differ. The best time of my life to date is either now, as a mother who relishes every second of this precious time with my child, or when I was Gillian's age (before school or homework, or mean girls, or responsibility). From what I see with Nonni and Grandaddy, I would guess being a grandparent is the next best thing...



Another giant bit happy-(besides the amazingly warm weather we have had the past two days)-these past four days, GILLIAN IS EATING!!!! And not just a little nibbling. I mean, she is acting like she has been deprived of food her entire life and is just now discovering the wonder of all things edible. Today she had yogurt, toast, cheese, graham crackers, black beans and cheese, macaroni and cheese, chicken, bananas (TWO of them!), and two chicken nuggets. What?!? Go on with your hungry little self! They say that if your kid doesn't eat one day, they will make up for it another. I didn't realize the same goes for weeks at a time. Whatever the cause-we are grateful.

Catching up?

I feel like development these days is running at warp speed and we are some cusp of Gillian no longer being my baby. For now, other little kids call her "baby" at the playlot. As in, "how old is your baby?" I am certain this is my favorite phase so far, but I have said that a hundred times before. We have front row seats watching this unbelieveable unfolding of self-awareness and it blows my mind. Every day. Gillian (who at this moment is singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in her crib, when she should be asleep) has a strong sense of self. She is headstrong, stubborn, opinionated, and pushy. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. I would say I am surprised, but I know her parents.

Here are examples of her "me-ness": When Suzi and Bill were here for my graduation (G's Nonni and Grandaddy), Suzi took Gillian to the park. Gillian noticed that Suzi unlatched the tray in the front of the stroller to get her out, and decided that latching the stroller tray was something very important to master. Even more important than enjoying herself on the swing or the slide. So, for 25 minutes, she worked on trying to close the tray. If Suzi came near her, she would say, "No..NO..NO!!!" and wave her arm keeping Suzi at bay. Suzi took a seat on an adjacent bench to watch Gillian alternate serious concentration and full blown fits of frustration. If she got up to offer help, Gillian would tell her "NO!" and point to the bench (as in, I GOT IT, Nonni...sit tight and I'll be with you in a minute!).

This happened with the stroller belt last Wednesday morning for the better part of an hour, and although I let her stuggle with latching it without interruption, I couldn't help but think there were warmer places to play with the belt latch than at the playlot at the beach (which happened to have a northeasterly wind that day). By the second trip to the playground that afternoon she had figured out how to latch the seatbelt (she still needs help undoing it, though...you have to push pretty hard). Say whatever else you will, but Gillian is no quitter.

He recent language explosion (which today includes "polka-dots") is really great. I think she understands just about everything we say to her, and she can communicate what she wants. She tells ME what she wants to eat. For the past three days she has eaten like she is making up for the past two weeks of stomach flu. This includes black beans (which is so exciting if you remember this video).

Anyway, I truly enjoy watching her be. Like the hand waving and chipper little "HI!" and kisses she blows at the guys (who could quite believeably be thugs or gangbangers) we pass on the sidewalk that turn them to chatty little puddles of sweetness mirroring her pure love...or the way she never forgets anything you show or tell her (this includes taking a wrong turn in a different direction than the playground, which she is quick to correct), which is sweet, but can require 45 minutes to walk 1 block (particularly now that she has discovered how to pick flowers and blow dandelion seed puffs). It is sweet (and embarrassing) when she tells other kids who get on the slide at the playground "No, No, No!" whilst wagging a finger because they had the nerve to get on her slide. I am sure it was an oversight for the other kids to think they had the right to be there, with it being a public park and all. Or the other day, when she had the strangest reaction to a mom there with her three older kids (older, like, 3, 6, and 10ish). She kept trying to catch her eye and say "Hi!" and kept waving and giggling, and at one point, laid down in the mulch about three feet where she was sitting with her husband and friend, looking up at her and waving and laughing and saying "HI!". This went on for about 45 minutes. I have never seen her act like that with a stranger. Weird; or not. Maybe she wanted to join their brood. Maybe it seemed glamorous for a minute to be one of the gang. I do have a short video of that which I need to cut down (it is hard to upload a video longer than 1 minute), but needless to say it was wonderfully strange and she inspired two other kids to lay down in the mulch, which was probably not their parent's favorite thing that happened that day (particularly because it had rained early that morning).

So I have edited videos up through mid-April and have a few to share:

Here she is reading one book and commenting on another:




Here is her new-age Devo Dance. Luckily (or not) the robot thing has been left by the wayside of late:


Mimicking started a while back, but it's still cute to show you how she perceives that we sound when we answer the phone:


And last, but certainly not least, her avant garde performance for Papa:


Shameless as I am, I will be posting more recent videos soon (after I edit them down to 60 seconds, which is hard). For now, I must go to sleep. Oh, another recent thing-don't wake up at night for a bottle-WAKE UP AT 6 AM FOR THE DAY. Now, THAT needs to go, in my humble opinion. *yawn*

Cheerful Projectile Vomit

What can I say? We have four canine teeth and a molar coming in, at the same time (did I not tell you Gillian is an overachiever?). We have been sick for almost two weeks with a late Spring cold (the beginnings of which, for G, began the night before Nonni came with a 102 fever, which harkened back to her last visit. Luckily, it was a fluke, and G was just a bit congested and snotty during her stay). "OK, winter," I thought to myself, "I am officially sick of you, sick of your respiratory bugs, and dammit, can we PLEASE get in the 70s and STAY in the 70s like we're suppose to be right now, in Mid-May?!?" (as I write, it is a frosty 45 degrees). I even dared to think, "bring on the sweltering heat, and the GI bugs" (since, after all, they are a small price to pay for tank top/sandal/skirt weather). Well, you know we get GI illnesses in the summer and respiratory illnesses in the winter, typically.

So, what happened? Gillian decided "why stop at the hacking cough of a lifetime smoker? I think it's high time to lose some more weight and show Mama what I'm really made of"....figuratively, and literally. She has had diarrhea and has been vomiting for the past 56 hours. Or so. The Very Helpful Doctor, with whom we consulted yesterday after discovering she couldn't even keep down Pedialite, said, "if she can still cry, she is not dehydrated". Have I mentioned how I adore the residents at our clinic and all their infinite wisdom? Maybe I was overreacting to take her in (per Sean), but it's our first GI Bug. Prior to the past 56 hours, I could count the number of times she has ever thrown up, including spitting up, on one hand. I'll just say it's a learning experience and leave it at that.

Anyhoo, Puke and Poop aside (Gillian's new favorite work is "Puke", which sounds a lot like "Guk"), at least she's cheerful about it. Like, coming running toward me for a giant hug, but then puking all over my neck and back and the couch and floor...all that giant successful breakfast she had just eaten, gone (yogurt, no less). Immediately afterward, when I said, "let's go get cleaned up and changed", she was sure I had just said "LET'S GO GET CHANGED AND GO TO THE PARK", and toddled off to find her coat and shoes. To be fair, we do usually get changed before we go outside, but what I really liked was the Purge and Sing. Seconds after the self-indulgent pukefest, and a millisecond after I uttered the word "changed", she was off, singing about the swing and shoes, looking for her shoes, ready to head out, covered in her own vomit.

I guess if she's ever going to get a GI bug, this is the Best One. But, if I could give her one bit of advice (one that I have been given approximately a zillion times) it would be, "you don't have to do everything at once! relax! the wide world of bacteria and viruses will be there your whole life; just pick up one at a time so you can really enjoy them!" (well, all but that last part).

Its Over

Well, it's official. I'm done. My dear, wonderful, patient, brilliant, fabulous advisor, one singular Peter Scheff, Saint of Saints, hooded me at the commencement last night, and it is over. For real. How do you thank someone who guided such a journey? How do you thank all the people along the way who listened to you, and helped you, and motivated you to achieve such a dream as this? I suppose the best tribute to pay is to take the tremendous responsibility that comes with knowledge and do good with it, to better the lives of others whose well being is, to some extent, in your hands. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing than working with inspiring, resilient, smart folks in the communities to solve environmental problems (people like those in OLC). Together, as partners, we are doing good-protecting their families and working to ensure their basic human right to live in a healthy environment. We build capacity. We mobilize resources to get things done...to get these sites cleaned up, to educate residents on health issues, and to motivate politicians. It's not easy, but it's FUN. And it's beyond rewarding. I am so humbled and honored to do what I do every day. I am so priviledged to live in a country where I have had the luxury of getting an education that allows me to serve the public and strive with them to make their world better. To make our world better.

**Sorry about the long absence. Our computer is on the skids, and we are in the process of getting it fixed. soon. I have approximately a million videos to post when my computer will again recognize my external hard drive. I also have so much to say about our wonderful week and Gillian's very happy visit with her grandparents, and life in general.