The big girl

Leah turned 2 last week and for some strange reason that means she is a big girl. The last two years seem like they went by in the blink of an eye and the past few months have gone by even quicker. Her development, both mentally and physically, has skyrocketed and her understanding of the world seems to expand more everyday.

The big girl transformation has come with a few adjustments on our part. We rearranged her room to make it less of a nursery. Gone are the changing table and mobile. In is the play kitchen. The baby toys are packed away in the attic as is the baby monitor. We are trading in rattles for crayons. The car seat has been replaced with a booster chair. We count to ten and say the alphabet. We sing together.

In our foyer is a picture I took of Leah the day she was born. She entered this world with what we call skidmarks; little abrasions on her head from the trauma of birth. Now her face gets marks from falling down while chasing Daisy through the backyard.

Two years old. I fear that the next time I blink I will be walking her down the aisle.

-Sefton

Our Trip to the Zoo

I was hit with a brilliant idea last week while trying to find a new addition to our list of possible weekend adventures. I suddenly remembered that there is a small zoo at a city park in Greenville. I emailed Darcey the link to the zoo's homepage and she was so excited by the idea that she didn't even look into it. The answer was a simple "yes."

There is a similar sized zoo in Fresno and I probably visited it four or five times in the two years I lived there. Most of those times were with Darcey and we enjoyed strolling through the exhibits on slow weekend days. The last time we were at a zoo Darcey was pregnant with Leah. It was more than two years ago when we visited the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. It must have been in the middle of June because it was in the upper 80s when we arrived at around 9 a.m. and pushing 100 when we left at noon.

Yesterday was a perfect summer day for the zoo as thick layers of clouds kept the area a bit cooler than an usual day in early August. We told Leah on the way out the door that we were going to see elephants and she just repeated that word over and over on the drive to Greenville. Well not that word exactly, but her version of it which sounds like "Elliots." The giant animals are just inside the gate and as we turned the corner and they came into sight, Leah's mouth dropped wide open. She waved and said hi to them and then noticed the monkeys in a pen further down the walk. Off we went.

I was really surprised at how nice the little zoo is. There are a lot of animals to see ranging from giant snapping turtles to a pair of magnificent lions. Leah especially enjoyed those but also made a point to look in every display in the reptile building and spent several minutes studying a toucan.

Darcey and I just ended up following her as she did the toddler trot from exhibit to exhibit. We had as much fun watching her as she had watching the giraffes. It made me think of those afternoons at the Fresno Zoo and how long ago that was. We barely knew who we were and we had no idea who we would become.

And we had no idea that anyone else would enjoy those kinds of days as much as we do.

-Sefton

Leah's Sleeping Problem

Recently Leah's sleeping habits have been disrupted. We still have the same bedtime routine that includes reading books, singing and dancing. I've even added a few surefire calming tricks like rubbing her back and reading to her in bed instead of in my lap. But even though 7 p.m. is bedtime, there are nights where she won't be asleep until after 9 p.m.

About six weeks ago, we converted her crib into a toddler bed. The difference is that the high front railings of the crib come off and are replaced with a small rail that is designed to keep her from rolling out of bed while she is asleep. That new rail also doesn't stretch all the way across the crib, which allows Leah to get out of bed and play instead of going to sleep.

And play she does. She gets into her dirty clothes hamper and strings shirts and pants across the room. She pulls the diapers down from her changing table and piles them up on the floor. Toys are scattered from corner to corner. On more than one occasion Leah has actually come out of her room to come play with us. And then there are the books…

Sometimes in the evening she will start to cry and when we go to check on her we find that she is upset because she has covered her bed with books and has left nowhere for herself to lay down. We find random pages laying on the floor obviously torn from a book the night before. And on more than one occasion, we have found her asleep on the floor next to a stack of books.

Our nightly routine now involves a late-night check to make sure she is in fact in bed. We also take the time to pick up all of the items that need not be in bed with a sleeping child. The picture above was taken on the morning after her first night of toddler-bed freedom.

Somehow I don't think she looked that peaceful 10 minutes before she actually fell asleep.

-Sefton

New favorite snack

We have had a whirlwind summer so far. In the last six weeks or so Leah has been visited by all of her grandparents in Anderson and even had lunch with her great-grandmother Leah Ipock during a week-long trip to Morehead City, N.C. and Bogue Sound. Darcey and I are so happy to have spent so much time with family and are even happier that so much family has spent time with our princess.

Now on to the reason for this post. We have found Leah's new favorite food. She simply can't get enough blueberries. We have been picking them up all summer and not only are the perfect size snack for her little hands, they are good for her and she thinks they are delicious. I have found that blueberries in a bowl is about the easiest breakfast to make for Leah during the week and I usually enjoy a handful or two while I'm pouring her milk.

On the way to the beach we stopped at a blueberry field outside of Burgaw, N.C. where they sold two sizes of boxes of blueberries: five pounds and 10 pounds. We bought the 10-pound box. Leah ate most of the first half during the week at Dad and Barbara's and most of the second half in the week since we have been home. She had blueberries at dinner last night and Darcey bought more at the farmer's market today.

During our trip to the beach, Leah also figured out the source of the blueberries when Uncle David turned us loose on the bushes behind his barn. Just like when she went strawberry picking, Leah started off strong and helped fill our little buckets. But she was soon eating more than she was picking and eventually retired to the comfort of the golf cart to continue munching on the delicious fruit.

I am overjoyed that Leah eats so many fresh fruits and vegetables. I hope it helps train her to enjoy a healthy diet throughout her life. Now if only we could finish her potty training so we don't have to deal with the "blueberry diapers" anymore…

-Sefton

The monster in the yard

There is a word that Leah learned early in her life. It was from Where's Spot, one of her favorite books. It is probably the longest word she knows and definitely the longest word she can say. At some point she became convinced that one of these creatures was in the backyard. Darcey and I aren't so sure and hope she is wrong…

-Sefton

Splash!

Last Sunday was a treat for our whole family. I had to work but got a great break in my day when Darcey called to tell me that she was taking Leah to the Sheppard Swim Center, our city pool, for the afternoon. The pool has this area called the Splash Zone which is essentially a wading pool that has several imaginative ways of dumping water on kids' heads. I go to the pool in the summer to find fun pictures for the newspaper of people playing in the water to stay cool.

Well, the Ipocks visiting the Splash Zone was as good a reason for me to head that way to find just such a picture for the paper. I had a nice one of a girl's goggles ending up in her mouth from the force of the water landing on her head before my girls even arrived.

I planned on staying as far away from Leah as possible so she would just play with Darcey without distraction. I had the longest lens I carry, which is primarily used to shoot football and baseball games, a large-brimmed hat pulled down low over my head, and a shooting position that allowed me to squat down into a ball where I hoped not to be noticed.

Well, Leah found me. Quickly.

Despite my best intentions I became part of the family outing and had a wet toddler pressed against me. Darcey did her best to distract her and led her around the area to play. Taking Leah swimming is a goal Darcey has had for a long time and she actually got the chance some weeks ago when she visited Kate and Ellie in Atlanta for a night. The four of them had a blast in the hotel pool. Since then Darcey and Leah have practiced swimming around our kitchen island by Darcey carrying her parallel to the floor and encouraging Leah to "kick, kick, kick." It is a joy to watch Leah take to the water and I look forward to more outings like this one.

Maybe I will actually get to wear a swimsuit.

-Sefton

Strawberries

Darcey and I have been trying to figure out how to get the family out in public more often. It's hard to do much more than go on a walk around the block because of my work schedule and Darcey's school schedule. We look forward to our weekends, but usually end up trying to reconnect as a family and are reluctant to share ourselves with anybody else because of it.

We worry that Leah, like Daisy, won't get enough socialization outside of her little circle and it makes us nervous. I know it sounds strange to compare the upbringing of our daughter to how we raised our dog, but those of you who know Daisy know exactly what I'm talking about. She just doesn't do new people and we want to avoid that with Leah as much as possible.

So yesterday we went on a little adventure to the strawberry patch. We had done a story on strawberry season at the paper and some benevolent reporter brought a gallon of fresh strawberries back to the newsroom which I enjoyed. So out the door we went in search of fruit and new friends.

Once we were in our row, we started to give Leah an idea of what we were doing. I would pick a strawberry, hand it to her and ask her to put it in the bucket. This worked for about half-a-dozen berries before she put one in her mouth. From then on out, Darcey and I were on our own picking and depositing while also trying to make sure Leah wasn't eating stems or unripe berries. By the time we had filled our containers, Leah had become an expert picker but had not mastered the art of getting the strawberries into the basket.

As Leah and I waited for to Darcey to pay at the store, she was waving to people coming in to the farm as well as people leaving. Leah laughed at the farm dogs wandering the property. We made friends with a mother sitting with her newborn in a rocking chair on the front porch. It was a perfect way to spend a morning as a family.

Mission accomplished.

-Sefton

Alone at last

This past weekend Darcey and I spent two nights away from Leah. It was the first weekend we have had alone together since she was born almost 20 months ago.

In the weeks building up to the trip I started feeling anxious about leaving. I knew that Mom would take good care of her and that Leah would most likely not notice that we were gone, but I still felt that something could go wrong and I would be a few hundred miles away. That feeling of dread remarkably melted away as we pulled out of the driveway and headed to Charlottesville, Va., for my college roommate's wedding.

It's amazing the habits that I've collected in the last 20 months. On the ride north I had to fight the urge to turn down the radio time and again as I was afraid it would wake Leah who is usually sleeping in the backseat on late-night car rides. When we arrived at the hotel after midnight there was no pack-and-play to set up, no baby awakened to soothe back to sleep and no worries about an early morning babble pulling us from our much-needed sleep.

I had forgotten how nice sleeping in is.

Darcey and I spent the day touring around Charlottesville. We visited the University of Virginia's campus and then headed for the city's unique downtown mall. It's a street that is closed off to all but pedestrian traffic and filled with shops and restaurants. At our first stop, a used book store called Read It Again, Sam, we bought Leah a book titled My Dog Never Says Please. We barely even thumbed through the pages, it was just a perfect title. We walked through art galleries and jewelry stores without any real destination and finally settled in at an outdoor table for an Italian lunch.

As we watched people come and go all around us, we both watched the children more than the adults. We were both making comments like "that girl is about Leah's age," and "we should cut Leah's hair like that," and "that little girl just said the sweetest thing." It was obvious where our minds were.

After a short nap we made our way to the wedding. It was the first time that Darcey had met many of my college friends that were there and we had a wonderful time. Without any worry about putting a child to bed or getting home at a reasonable hour we were able to stay at the reception until the staff started hauling out the tables. We then rode a shuttle back to town and stayed out until after last call.

As we made our way back south the next day, I didn't have any sense of urgency. The 7-hour ride was quiet and easy and we laughed together and talked about the ceremony the night before. We had just seen the start of a new family which, I assume, will eventually move from two to three people, and those parents will also have a first time away from their child. I wonder what theirs will be like.

As for our little one, she was outside playing with GeeGee when we pulled into the driveway. She came over laughing but then was distracted by a group of clover flowers growing nearby and walked away to pick them.

It wasn't exactly the reunion I had envisioned, but then again, I didn't think I would be able to handle being away from her as easily as I did. I guess I should take this as a lesson learned: we will always come home to our little girl.

Spring is here

The best part of living in the South is short time of year when the seasons change from winter to spring. Over the course of a couple of days the grass turns green, trees start to bloom and the temperature hits the mid-70s. It is almost impossible to stay inside and this is when I really enjoy my job. I spend several hours a day outside shooting baseball games, construction projects and finding complete strangers who are also enjoying the perfect South Carolina weather.

But in the past week I've come to find a new thing to celebrate in the spring time: the back yard.

First, let me give a short history lesson about the yard we inherited when we bought this house. Half of the backyard was poison ivy. Over the last few years we have fought it back and planted grass. It's not a perfect patch of green heaven but it's closer than I ever thought it would be. I cut the grass for the first time over the weekend and it looks great.

Leah likes it too. So far this week it has been nearly impossible to get her inside after she gets home from school. Somewhere in that little walk from the driveway to the backdoor she realizes how perfect the evening is and refuses to go inside.

Who are we to argue?

We just had our second dinner in the backyard this season. The grill is always ready to roll and happy hour is quickly becoming a tradition for us. I've thought about how we dealt with these first magical days of spring last year and realized that it's not too far off from this year. Leah wasn't mobile yet so Darcey and I would put her in the little sun tent we have and enjoyed happy hour together.

What's funny is that this is the first time I can point to where our plan for children has actually come to fruition. You see, we always said that we wanted the baby to join our life and not change it. Leah's absolute refusal to go inside in the evening makes me realize that she is truly her mother's daughter and I can see us spending so much time outdoors this spring and summer. It's so much fun too. We walk around the yard and talk about the plants. We play fetch with Daisy and hunt down the ball ourselves when she refuses to run after them. We go down the slide and twirl circles in the light of the setting sun.

I look forward to the evenings more and more each day. Darcey does too. She is considering taking the summer off from school so she can play with Leah everyday. I'm jealous of the thought since my work schedule will change soon and I will miss these wonderful moments.

I guess I will simply tighten my grip on those that I'm lucky enough to be a part of.

Enjoy the video.

-Sefton

Going Potty

It has begun.

We bought Leah a *potty* last week because she has shown interest in our using the bathroom. It has been a bit of a challenge when she wonders in while I'm in there because I have to kind of fend her off with one hand so she doesn't reach into the stream.

If that all works out, we wave goodbye to the *tinkle* as the toilet is flushed.

*Tinkle*. That's the word we've settled on. It's strange using words like that because we don't want to use baby words with Leah but none of the alternatives seem like very good options. *Potty* is the other new word in our vocabulary and it is starting to grow on me.

We have noticed for a while that Leah will *tinkle* as we draw her a bath. I'm sure it's the running water that is making her go and I find it interesting that the human reaction to urinate from the noise could be biological instead of learned. Anyway, Darcey and I thought the best time to start *potty* training would be just before we put her in the bath. We get her undressed, turn the water on, and ask if she needs to go *potty*. She already understands the concept and sits down on her own. We let her stay there for a while but there is yet to be any *tinkle* in the *potty* before we put her in the bath.

There is however *tinkle* in the bath after the *potty*.

-Sefton

White stuff…

Snow.

As a southerner, the concept is mostly foreign to me. I can count all of the times that I've ever been sledding on one hand. I'm not sure I have ever actually hit anyone with a snowball and I never would have tasted hot chocolate if I needed to use snow as an excuse.

My experience in the snow has of course grown drastically since meeting Darcey. An outsider like me has to get used to temperatures in the teens and the sight of snowplows on Wisconsin roads. Snow has made travel to visit family fun in some ways but difficult in others. I've shoveled sidewalks, we've had flights delayed, and once we almost got trapped at a Culver's in Tomah, Wisconsin.

But today was one of the fun times. I bundled Leah up in just about every piece of clothing in her suitcase and plopped her down in the backyard. We ran and slipped. We threw snowballs for Daisy to chase. We laughed together.

After a while we came inside where lunch was waiting. Darcey fed Leah and I put her down for a nap. She cried for a second or two but then exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep.

The backyard is wrecked for snow. There are footprints running through the entire yard so there isn't really anywhere to play out there anymore.

We can only hope for another inch or so to accumulate tonight so we have something to do tomorrow.

-Sefton

Exploration

I remember a time when Leah was immobile. At the time it seemed like we were anchored down by this little person who couldn't do much more than squirm in the little vibrating chair that we kept her in. Now when I look back I realize how easy we had it without even knowing it.

Once Leah was able to roam the house, we spent so much time chasing her down that we couldn't get anything done for ourselves. Cooking dinner took forever, cleaning was an impossibility and putting our feet up was entirely out of the question.

The irony of the situation was not lost on me. On one hand there is this tiny thing that isn't going anywhere that we felt had to be watched 24 hours a day, and on the other is a stealthy toddler who at any second could start playing with a power outlet or pull a carelessly-placed knife off of the counter. It's a lesson I learned entirely too late but one that I hope to pass on to other first-time parents. I'm not suggesting that anyone should neglect a newborn, just that a parent can be productive regardless of having a baby.

Now since Darcey and I both felt that we couldn't accomplish anything and keep Leah within sight, we sort of adopted a new policy: we just let her go. Most of the time she stays nearby on her own but she will often leave the room and explore her world. We listen for clues as to what she is doing and where she is. The Christmas piano has turned out to be a great tool for keeping tabs on her as has Daisy. If she has been quiet for a minute or two we will go find her. I've noticed that she can usually be found in her room reading a book on the floor or in the den sitting in her rocking chair.

Sometimes though she is getting into things that you wouldn't expect. She pulls Darcey's sweaters out of the storage bin under our bed and carries them all over the house. She will take any television remote within reach to any other room where it will remain lost for a day. And sometimes we don't realize how quiet she has been until there is a thump and she starts crying. A quick hug and a little reassurance and everything is back to normal.

Leah's exploring is fascinating to watch. She is not only drawn to some new thing that she has noticed, but she is constantly going back to things she has touched before. I think it's kind of like using flash cards to learn math. She is gaining knowledge and understanding by increased frequency and interactions.

And sometimes she just does something funny.

- Sefton

Fun in Kmart

Over the weekend Darcey and I had to go shopping for, of all things, a sleeping bag for Leah. We aren't sending her on a camping trip or a sleepover. We needed the sleeping bag because she moved to a new classroom this week which doesn't use cribs for nap time. Instead they lay out a bunch of sleeping bags on the floor and have the kids lay down for their naps.

Now for those of you who haven't been around Leah for a while, let me explain something to you. She doesn't sit still. Period. She never stops…well anything. She pulls toys out and spills them all over the floor. She pulls things that aren't toys out and spills them all over the floor. She dances. She runs. She squirms. Man, does she squirm.

So on our quest to find a sleeping bag we went from store to store, always putting her in the seat of a shopping cart so we wouldn't have to chase her through the aisles. She won't let us carry her (see the note about squirming above) and we wouldn't want to anyway because she has gotten so heavy. So after three or four stores, she was just done with the shopping cart. We had to let her go.

And we had fun. One of the things that Darcey and I have both struggled with since she was born is how to take her out in public and keep her from being a bother to other people. We have both gotten a lot better about going out with her, but I know that we needed that little reminder that toddlers belong out in the world too.

As for the sleeping bag, we found a fun colorful retro-looking one with a sort of abstract flower pattern on it. And, needless to say, I was shocked when her daycare report came home noting that she had taken a 90-minute nap on her first day in the new class.

-Sefton