They Make Me Smile

We have made it through another week! This one was somewhat traumatic at times. The dog was on the brink of death for a couple days. This dog has been a part of the family since even before Mommy met Daddy; he was the first child. He is now the cantankerous fixture of the house that both girls ADORE. Everyone's heart broke to think of him going.

When they found out he had a bowel obstruction (second time this has happened, by the way), they opted to have surgery and while he is not home yet, he IS recovering nicely.

Monday was our first day trying the "big girl" gymnastics class. I am probably bragging but I was SO proud of how well Camila did. She is behind in skill level, obviously since she has only been taking it six weeks and in the baby class they don't do a lot of actual tumbling. The teacher had to remind her to sit down and wait her turn a couple times since she is used to more free play than "class", but she obeyed well and paid attention. She listened better than some of the children that were close to four! Since she liked it and the teacher voted to keep her in it, we are officially signed up for that class.

Mom's Day Out is going quite a bit better. She insists on wearing these hideous bright orange sunglasses that came in a pack of swimmy diapers forever ago. They SAY "Little Swimmers" on the bridge of the nose. But for two weeks now she has to find them before we leave and she wears them all the way into the classroom. She also takes Pluto along as a comfort object and now we are down to barely-there tears at drop off. (More than I would like, but I just have to deal with it.) She is bonding with her teachers more, which is helping, and I am also getting to know them better which helps my comfort level. They seem very hands-on and kind, and the older one assured me that she (unlike a LOT of daycare providers) would tell me if Camila was not adjusting and should maybe wait a little longer because she doesn't like to see the kids unhappy. But she said that Camila is opening up a lot and actually playing with the other kids and participating in music classes and not crying during the day. The last three times they said she has done very well.

Emi is still determined to learn to walk, but has not quite made it yet. I dreamed last night that she just got up off the floor and walked past me before I knew what was happening. There is a scary-real chance that it just might happen that way! She is talking more and more...there are a few times I was certain she said "yeah" and "hi" this week, as well as continuing her "Baba baba" practices. She babbles constantly and is in love with her sippy cup/the water inside the sippy cup.

I heard a song during Camila's gymnastics class (there was a radio playing softly in the background). I don't know anything really about the song or the artist, so I can't promote it, but a few phrases caught my ear. It sounded like more of a love song but was talking about "you make me smile", and all the crazy things the guy would do for this girl, but it reminded me more of children and how they make us smile and all the crazy things we do for them (dance like a fool, for instance). They really do. I'd do more for those girls than probably anyone else in the world. Even on the roughest of rough days, they do silly, funny, cute little things to make me smile.

And other times, they don't have to do anything. Yesterday after MDO I gave Camila a shower and dressed her in comfy clothes for nap then the three of us settled on the couch with a book. I read story after story and in between Camila would just snuggle in my lap. I'd ask her, "Ready to lay down?" She snuggled closer and would say, "No! One more?" Emi alternated between cuddling on the other side of me and playing happily on the floor. We read for over half an hour, the perfect quiet time. It was the very definition of contentment. (I did finally force myself to put them to bed but it was hard. I miss her SOOO much when she's gone all morning.)

I can't wait till I have my own kids that I don't have to send away for 8 hours a week at such a young age! I know I wouldn't be able to stand it. (Although I manage to keep Camila down closer to 6 hours a week by dropping her off a little later and picking her up a little early.)

Here are a few good pictures I got this week:

One of my favorite sister pictures yet. I just wish you could see a little more of Camila's face.

Camila is getting better at smiling on demand. It's a little "grimace-y" still but coming along.

A spontaneous hug from Camila. I think Emi was worried something was up!

Munchkin News

Okay, wow, we've had a big couple weeks!

Camila celebrated her 2nd birthday. She's so grown-up, even for 2. Today at gymnastics they did evaluations and we were recommended to move up to the 3 year old group. She takes instruction very well and can almost execute her flips by herself. She can swing over the foam pit by herself, "swing like a monkey" on the bars, and walk across the balance beam like it's nothing. She is the youngest recommended for advancement so I'm pretty proud of her. :)
The other day she went in her playhouse (that she got for her birthday) and I heard, "Where's the knife? Oh, there it is. KNIFE!" HAHA she had gotten a birthday cake 3D puzzle thing for her birthday with a cake server that she calls her knife. I think she's delighted to have a knife she is actually ALLOWED to have. But it was kind of scary!
Then I pretended to eat the whole "cake" and remembered she had gotten a doctor's kit for her birthday. "Dr. Camila, can you make my tummy feel better?"
Her compassionate reply? "No, watch Dr. Phil."
I have NEVER watched Dr. Phil or let her watch it and supposedly no one else has either. But I made that ONE passing joke, and she still remembers it over a month later. (I was turning on Mickey and when I turned the tv on, it was on a local channel and Dr. Phil was playing. "You wanna watch Dr. Phil?" It was a joke. But she said, "yeah!" and for 3 days begged to watch Dr. Phil, even though she has no clue what it is.)
Mom's Day Out is going somewhat better. She doesn't cry until I actually leave, and actually on Tuesday she didn't really cry, just whined a little bit. Her mom dropped her off Tuesday and said she cried some, but we sent Ricky (her stuffed chinchilla) and her teachers said it's the first day she actually seemed to enjoy it. (Which tells me she HASN'T been enjoying it this whole time, which is what I was TRYING to get through to certain parents who have been determined to make her go...but I'm not bitter.) Her parents have said the end of this month will be the final decision.

Emi has been growing like crazy as well. She now has two teeth and another coming in. She is scooting around the floor but is determined to walk. She managed to pull up twice now, but can't catch her balance to stand on her own. She will take steps holding fingers though...it will be soon!
She has also learned to shake her head "no" and most of the time means it! If I lay her down to change her diaper she shakes her head. If I get her ready for bed she shakes her head (and sometimes tries to throw a little fit). If you ask her any kind of question she grins and shakes her head no. So in that case, she doesn't know the difference between no and yes, but she knows it's an answer to a question.
She has also learned to say my "name", her first word! Yesterday she screamed it at me when she got mad ("BABA BABA!"), but then today, she's been saying it over and over to me, in a more conversational tone. Yesterday, whileI was talking to the cleaning lady, I looked over and her eyes were fixated on my mouth and she was moving her jaw up and down. It looked almost like she was mocking me! It was sooo funny but I'm also excited she's so interested in talking now.
My babies are so big. :( At gymnastics today, one of the moms finally asked if she was mine. I told her I was a nanny and she was floored. Then I told her I LIKED it and she about passed out. It sounds mean, but I honestly don't think she even likes her own little girl. She is definitely NOT the nanny type. (And not particularly the employer type either, although that little girl could use a nanny in her corner.)
They keep me busy, but I had a day off at the beginning of the week and came back totally refreshed. Overall, we've had a good week!

Tip #3: Commitment

This is more for anyone thinking of being a nanny than anyone who already is. Anyone who has the job now knows from experience: it's a HUGE commitment.
You are in charge of someone's child. You commit to teach good behavior both by actual teaching but also modeling it. For however many hours a week, you are basically a parent. And just like a parent, you will reap the consequences of any mistakes you make. (Only there are also two "other" parents that have to approve this parenting style!) You have to be consistent, patient, flexible, observant, and did I mention patient? Not having children of my own, I can't say if it's more frustrating to deal with other people's children or your own. But as far as I can see, there are pros and cons to both. You have total freedom with your own, and there maybe isn't as much at stake if you do mess up. But with other people's kids, you can give them back most times and if nothing else, look forward to quitting time! :)
You are also committing your time. It depends on what the parents do as to how big of a commitment is required. I work for two doctors. That means I don't have even one parent with a consistent schedule, so it can be VERY hard to make plans. In a lot of ways I got lucky that they had a second child. With the mom being off work for nine months (she took a leave of absence when she experienced problems), I was able to take two vacations and work slightly better hours (40-45). Now she is back at work. Life is awful for all of us, except maybe the kids. :)
Example: I am in day 10 of a 12-day stretch. They asked me at 6:40 Friday morning if I could go out of town with them for the weekend. I said yes; probably shouldn't have. I had casual plans with a friend and canceled, hurting her feelings, and I feel very bad about it. (When I learn how to balance commitments, I'll let you know.) But I went. So I was working alllllll weekend, till Sunday afternoon. It was nice just to get out of town, and we went to the beach. It rained most of the weekend, but we were in a condo and could look at the waves from the balcony.
But I didn't get even one tiny break to go take a walk on my own. Should I have asked for one? Probably. There is a different between total commitment and getting walked on. But going back to being positive, I didn't and I'm going to enjoy pretty much what I got. They did take us all to dinner. (A late, dressy one, and the girls did FANTASTIC! Go me!)
Then we came back and yesterday, I worked 7:15-6:40. It was a long day. But...they're doctors. They got stuck and there was no way around it. I almost didn't make visitation at church, but I ran straight there after work. I was close enough that I was only 10 minutes late, and had called to let them know. I didn't make it home till almost 9 pm because my mom needed me to stop at the store. It can be hard to run a life on the side.
So just a friendly warning...think about what you're about to do. Make sure you can handle what you're about to take on.