That one on the left, we cut it up with a knife and each of us had a bite. Yes, it's a cherry, so the bites were small. But yum. Is it because of our gardening prowess (ha HA) or our gardening pride that it tasted sooooo good?
I tried Anneliese out in a back carry with my wrap.
It was kind of wrong; there was a part that was supposed to be tied under my arms and it was over. But whatever; it was secure enough for the few minutes I wore her that way (just out to putter in the garden a little bit). As a seasoned "babywearer" it's probably a faux pas to admit that I SUCK at back carries and will probably never be able to wrap her on my back all by myself. Maybe when she gets to be a toddler. We'll see. I understand how it works and the technique, but the fact is that I'm not very flexible, so it's very difficult for me to secure the baby and do the motions I need to do to wrap her correctly. I hope I'm wrong because I'm really digging the wraps this time around, but if I can't get it down I can always wear her on my back in an Ergo or bEco.
I guess I haven't mentioned this, but Nora is learning to read. This is something that we're working on together and we started about three weeks ago. She's known the sounds of letters for about a year now and has been trying to sound out/spell words with some success. I decided to try a learn-at-home program with her just to see if she was interested. I have a short attention span, myself, and knew I couldn't stick with it if she wasn't really into it. But is she into it? She is very into it. I'd thought for a while that she was on the cusp and with a little help she could make a leap and be reading. We're using a book and each lesson is about ten minutes long. She asks to do the lessons and lately has been wanting to do two a night, she's so eager. We do the little exercises and she stops in between and exclaims, "I'm learning to read, Mommy! I'm learning to read!"
Tonight she read two sentences, "Sam is mad at me" and "That rat is sad." I am so excited for her. Watching my little girl learn how to read is something I've dreamed of my whole life, because reading is so important to me. I don't read as much as I used to (well, I read a lot on the internet, which is more of a "junk food" form of reading it seems), but learning to read was definitely a huge, life-changing event for me. I was the girl who read the back of the cereal box, the local paper, and all my grandmama's women's magazines, cover to cover. I lived for the days the teacher got the Scholastic or Troll books delivery. I enjoyed the light reading of the day--Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, the Baby-Sitters's Club (The Truth About Stacey ... is that she has diabetes!) and I also loved some classic children's lit, like The Secret Garden, Little Women, Charlotte's Web (oh, my beloved E. B. White!). I just realized that soon Nora will be ready for the Carolyn Haywood books and I practically squeed. Reading has been more than a way for me to pass my time and expand my mind. Reading has been a great friend to me. Books were there for me in school, on the bus or at lunchtime when I didn't have somebody to sit with. They provided an escape from family conflict and a way to quiet my mind when I was scared or bored or just overwhelmed with my own thoughts.
So this is a great time for both of us. Nora is so excited, and I am, too. Mostly though, I just love Nora. I love the person she is. I love her cleverness, her kindness, and her loving spirit. I love her fearlessness. I love that we have shared interests, like literature. It's great to see that she's like me in some ways, but I also appreciate all the ways we're different, like her beautiful confidence and her outgoing nature.
Love. My. Life.
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