In/dependence II

These are some more pictures from the "dependence" side of independence: sportin the shades... on moms lap; giving mommy a hug; desparately wanting "up! up!" in my arms.

In/dependence

Never fear: Miss In/dependence is here! She can push her own tricycle! She can defy instructions not to climb the stairs alone! And she can enjoy a goooood cuddle. . . . sigh.

Backyard Fun

Point Reyes, Part II

Point Reyes, Part I

We were suckered into backpacking this past weekend and now I wonder why we waited so long. I had a blast, Zach had a blast, and most importantly, Molly had a blast. We went with some great co-campers, including a 4-month old baby who was just amazing. Totally cute, charming, and sweet (she was the one who suckered us into it - we figured if a 4-month old could hack it, a 16-month old could!). And the non-parent adults in the group were very accommodating to us parents and kids. All around, a great time.

Photos - top: Heading back up from the beach; middle: Molly helps Kim settle in to her tent, Molly tests her boundaries; bottom: Molly leans into the wind on the beach, Molly returning from her adventure in the grassy meadow.

Stripes & Separation

Here's Molly sportin' the stripes at Zach's folks place over father's day weekend.

The other day I (well really it was Zach, but he used my login, so it has my name on the post) posted a picture of Paz holding Molly & Kira. That picture was remarkable, in part, because Zach was able to take it with me standing nearby. See, Paz is with Molly 3 1/2 days a week and she's been coming over every week for the last ... year (could it be that long?!). Last fall at some point, as Molly started to learn how to crawl, she also started getting some of that separation anxiety (with a dash of stranger anxiety thrown in for fun). Pretty soon, she also figured out that when Paz arrived, her parents left, and would promptly break down in tears upon Paz's arrival.

Over the months some days have been better than others, but the morning routine on days that Paz comes over usually went something like this: we all get up, get dressed, start eating breakfast; Paz arrives, Molly bursts into tears and throws herself into my arms; Paz and I juggle things until breakfast is over at which point I try to convincingly tell Molly everything is fine, I love her, I'll see you tonight, & goodbye; Molly tries to convincingly tell me that the world is ending and she'll never survive the day; Paz tries to distract her, and I try to slip out as quickly as possible. On a good day, the distractions might work and Paz and Molly might be able to walk me to the door to say goodbye. On a bad day I leave for work to the tune of Molly crying.

The thing is, I know that she's fine. Every once in a while I get the glimpses of the two of them together and I can see that they adore each other. At one point, when I was partially employed, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with Paz and Molly. Of course, Paz & I thought that would be fun, but we soon found out that it wouldn't work. With both of us there, Molly was inconsolable. So, after trying various techniques to get Molly to hang out with both of us, I decided to close myself in the office and, I don't know, look for a job or something. Moments later I heard giggling and laughing coming from the living room. And sure enough, Molly was having a blast with Paz.

So, to make a short story long, the remarkable thing that happened the day that picture was taken is that Paz walked in to the kitchen holding Kira, when Molly, who was finishing up breakfast with me, ran over to Paz and started insisting on "up, up, up!" For a second I saw surprise flash across Molly's face when she realized that both Zach and I were standing right there, but we were so excited and positive that she quickly took pride in being in Paz's arms. So far, the trend has continued. Last week she even started signing "work" when Paz came over and proactively said goodbye to me & Zach before we had to go.

There's a part of me that's wistful for the reassurance that Molly is so attached to me that she can't stand me leaving, but there's another part of me that's really excited to see this next level of development. I'm sure all the other parents out there have similar stories, right?

This Kid Rocks!

Follow the adventures of our lovely leading lady as she rearranges rocks in her grandmother's garden. Where she picked up this fascination with rocks, who knows? But she certainly enjoys those rocks. Even these heavy ones that can be difficult to transport (and sometimes drop).