First off - Piggy is still missing. Last night I gently explained that he was missing and we didn't know where he was, and she completely comprehended that idea. Not that it made it any better, but she looked around her room for a minute and then proceeded to cry for the next three hours. I think the fact that I was crying too really drove the message home to her; after all, she's never seen me shed tears before, so this must have been something serious.
This morning when I entered her room she looked at me hopefully and said, "Baba?"
But when I said I was sorry, he is still missing, she just asked to come out of her crib and hasn't mentioned him since.
Portia and I took a late night walk last night with a purpose: I figured the local homeless guys would be checking the trashcans (and I was right). I asked them all if they'd seen Piggy and they were very sympathetic, but no one had seen him. Oh well.
On another note, we had our first group playdate today with the Wharton Kids Club. Approximately 10 moms and toddlers gathered at Taney Playground to chat and let the kids explore a bit. I shouldn't be surprised, but there were no men present; I wondered if there were any stay-at-home dads in the club since in DC it seemed as if SAHDs were everywhere. But alas, it's all women and kids about Margot's age.
She loved it! I know already that she will not look back at me when her first day of kindergarten arrives. She was perfectly content to toddle away and explore everyone else's toys and snacks. I wasn't sure at what point I was supposed to intervene, because I don't like to stunt her exploration. Mostly I intervened when it involved her eating someone else's food. I think she wins the 'most confident' award today, which is something unexpected. Go Min! I knew she'd be an adventurer.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
AMBER ALERT - Piggy is Missing
The absolute worst, the absolute unthinkable has happened:
Piggy is missing.
While on a trip to the Franklin Institute this morning, Margot dropped her beloved Piggy somewhere between our house and the museum, and her sitter didn't notice at the time.
(I was at the DMV, which was another tragedy, although one from which I've already recovered.)
Since it's only a six block walk to the museum along the same street from our house, I've searched again and again. I checked every storefront, asked every passerby, and questioned the hot dog cart vendors. I even asked those who appear to live on the sidewalk permanently, but no one has seen him.
Why would anyone take Piggy? He's far from new, too grubby to regift to someone, and so ratty only his true owner could love him. But it's clear that he's gone - although I made a last ditch effort to find him with a Craigslist posting under lost and found.
And Margot is a wreck. We walked 20th Street again this afternoon and she knew exactly why we were walking that route without me saying a word about Piggy. "Baba," she whispered plaintively a few times, and the rest of the time she just sat silent. When we came back to the front door she waved to the sidewalk and said "bye bye." I'll never know if she was really talking to Piggy or just closing the event (the way she does when we exit a room sometimes) but it was the saddest moment I've had in a long long time.
So it appears our perfect sleeper is a thing of the past, but maybe, in time, Alternate Piggy will be allowed to fill the role of his ill-fated brother.
Piggy is missing.
While on a trip to the Franklin Institute this morning, Margot dropped her beloved Piggy somewhere between our house and the museum, and her sitter didn't notice at the time.
(I was at the DMV, which was another tragedy, although one from which I've already recovered.)
Since it's only a six block walk to the museum along the same street from our house, I've searched again and again. I checked every storefront, asked every passerby, and questioned the hot dog cart vendors. I even asked those who appear to live on the sidewalk permanently, but no one has seen him.
Why would anyone take Piggy? He's far from new, too grubby to regift to someone, and so ratty only his true owner could love him. But it's clear that he's gone - although I made a last ditch effort to find him with a Craigslist posting under lost and found.
And Margot is a wreck. We walked 20th Street again this afternoon and she knew exactly why we were walking that route without me saying a word about Piggy. "Baba," she whispered plaintively a few times, and the rest of the time she just sat silent. When we came back to the front door she waved to the sidewalk and said "bye bye." I'll never know if she was really talking to Piggy or just closing the event (the way she does when we exit a room sometimes) but it was the saddest moment I've had in a long long time.
So it appears our perfect sleeper is a thing of the past, but maybe, in time, Alternate Piggy will be allowed to fill the role of his ill-fated brother.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Walking Update
The Min is a full-fledged walker.
I define this as someone who spends more time on two feet than on hands and knees. She walks from the living room into the kitchen, down the hallway, and across her bedroom. She is finally a true biped.
This happened several days ago. She awoke that morning and spent the entire day on two feet. I'm not sure what the occasion was, but I am certainly proud.
Next: sumitting the furniture. Details as they develop.
I define this as someone who spends more time on two feet than on hands and knees. She walks from the living room into the kitchen, down the hallway, and across her bedroom. She is finally a true biped.
This happened several days ago. She awoke that morning and spent the entire day on two feet. I'm not sure what the occasion was, but I am certainly proud.
Next: sumitting the furniture. Details as they develop.
E - I - E - I - OH
I've discovered what an important role singing plays in parenting.
Okay, maybe we're not quite like that.
But numerous verses of Old MacDonald distract Margot long enough to get an entire yogurt in her mouth, or get a diaper changed when she's not in the mood.
Finally, she's joined the chorus! "Old MacDonald had a farm..." I start. "E I E I", she supplies with a huge smile.
I love it. With her Ruland genes, she may just be a star!
(Here she was at the recording studio with Brodie when she was just two months old)
Okay, maybe we're not quite like that.
But numerous verses of Old MacDonald distract Margot long enough to get an entire yogurt in her mouth, or get a diaper changed when she's not in the mood.
Finally, she's joined the chorus! "Old MacDonald had a farm..." I start. "E I E I", she supplies with a huge smile.
I love it. With her Ruland genes, she may just be a star!
(Here she was at the recording studio with Brodie when she was just two months old)
Introducing Piggy
To know Margot is to know the most important creature in her life: Piggy.
We don't know who gifted Piggy to Margot, but I wish I could give him/her a big 'thank you' for providing Margot with her number one favorite toy.
She has cuter, softer toys, but I suspect Piggy's handy size made him the favorite about a year ago. Piggy now accompanies us everywhere - in family pictures, on long car rides, and especially at nap time. He allows Brodie and I to take Margot to restaurants that we otherwise would not be welcome in; all we have to do is produce Piggy and all whining and fussing cease. Margot's thumb goes into her mouth and she clutches Piggy to her cheek and ahhhh....silence reigns.
I purchased an identical pig last winter in case - God forbid - anything should happen to the original Piggy (honestly, I've considered insuring him). But, of course, Margot will have nothing to do with this imposter pig that I now refer to as Alternate Piggy (shown here with the real Piggy).
"Ba Ba," Margot wails when she needs comforting. "Ba Ba, BA BA!" More than once I've had to pull the car over to the shoulder of a highway to retrieve him from the crack between her carseat and the door. But she loves Piggy, and so do I. He makes parenting almost easy.
We don't know who gifted Piggy to Margot, but I wish I could give him/her a big 'thank you' for providing Margot with her number one favorite toy.
She has cuter, softer toys, but I suspect Piggy's handy size made him the favorite about a year ago. Piggy now accompanies us everywhere - in family pictures, on long car rides, and especially at nap time. He allows Brodie and I to take Margot to restaurants that we otherwise would not be welcome in; all we have to do is produce Piggy and all whining and fussing cease. Margot's thumb goes into her mouth and she clutches Piggy to her cheek and ahhhh....silence reigns.
I purchased an identical pig last winter in case - God forbid - anything should happen to the original Piggy (honestly, I've considered insuring him). But, of course, Margot will have nothing to do with this imposter pig that I now refer to as Alternate Piggy (shown here with the real Piggy).
"Ba Ba," Margot wails when she needs comforting. "Ba Ba, BA BA!" More than once I've had to pull the car over to the shoulder of a highway to retrieve him from the crack between her carseat and the door. But she loves Piggy, and so do I. He makes parenting almost easy.
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