Category: Totally Tatum

She’s whisking up some concoction in her little lobster. I love this little seat! Anyway, she is now in transition into finger foods. This is difficult because now I don’t get to hold her as much! Before, I spent meal times spooning the baby food and holding her bottle. Now, she is moving into more independence and this means ….well, it means so much!

First, what the heck do I feed a one-year old? Before, I just went to the baby aisle and VOILA! All the meals are complete and idiot-proof. Plus, they were pure and preservative free. Now, I have to think and plan. So, what did I do? I perused multiple blogs, websites and AAPA to find what were her needs at this age. Then, I met with Mary and Marla at Temple Chai to see what this would look like at school so we were on the same page. Tatum is just learning to chew so this has not been the simplest of transitions. We have to peel each pea since she spits this part out anyway. Also, the various textures sometimes make her wince! (Ex..egg yolk, broccoli, apple)

We finally got it down to an approximate menu. She needs about 1000 cals/day, and this cannot be more than a 1/3 from milk. I won’t give juice, so she must now get adequate veggies, fruits, grains and protein.

Breakfast:

One scrambled egg, 4-8oz milk, 1/2 banana or other fruit

or 1/2 cup oatmeal made with milk mixed with banana + 4 oz milk

Snack:

Choices: graham cracker, cheerios, fruit cup, string cheese cubes, carrots/peas/beans mix + 4 oz milk, 1/2 whole wheat muffin (pick two but include a veggie or fruit) not too much sweet..

Lunch:

Diced chicken + veggies + 4 oz milk

Snack: See above (with 4oz milk)

Dinner:

Rice or pasta

chicken or ground turkey

veggies (edamame?)

I want to try quinoa with her too!

Her tendency is to want to drink only her baba with milk from her bottle. Forget the cup or anything else besides milk. I have to be persistent in trying other ideas like water and having this in a real cup.

In the meantime, I am enjoying introducing her to new foods. Her palate seems to be pretty diverse at this point 🙂

 

 

It’s been a tough few weeks, I must admit. Tough because Tatum has been sick off and on (more on than off) and with the house in remodel mode (which includes a myriad of obstacles that come with disorder in house), I’m truly spent.

Coming out of Christmas was so refreshing because Tatum finally was getting better. She’s exhibiting her adorableness in her mutterings of “baba, mama, lala…”…etc. Plus, her wobbling as she attempts to take steps is so cute! She’s so close! The bottle (and of course her bear, Coti’s ball and her blankie are close seconds) and all start with B! Baba…

 

My heart just overflows as I watch her enjoy her little attachments. It shows me that she has a big heart as well and loves to love! What a wonderful quality; the ability to pour out love and to love another. She also is attached to me which (I admit) warms my heart. The nice thing is that she recovers quickly and jumps right back into her playing. This is showing her resilience, I hope! So coming back to school this week was difficult. Dropping her off at Temple Chai, although l adore the place and the people, she did not want me to leave her 🙁 BUT, what made it all better?
Marla. Thank you Marla! Tatum is now in the 1-year room with Alex, Will and Malea, and she is thriving in there! Marla is so good with the kids. I can walk away knowing she is in wonderful hands.

The week was going swimmingly as I was accomplishing my work, getting caught up, knowing Tatum was doing great, and the house was getting finished. Then, 3:30, Wednesday, Marla called to tell me Tatum threw up twice and has a fever of 100! WHAT!? Not again. So, she is home today with my mom (THANK YOU MOM!!)

This brings me to a needed reminder of his love. This morning when I awoke, I had a million things to accomplish before I left for work. Of course, I had to get ready, but more importantly, I had to make sure Tatum’s food was ready for the day; that she had somewhere to play in the house since my mom can’t carry her very easily; that all of her needs were taken care of before I left, basically. Plus, I had to get Coti fed and walked. Nothing was easy because I also am getting a cold, so I feel like a bus hit my body. As I walked outside with Coti on leash, my head was down and my mind was racing with tasks tasks tasks…I then looked up and saw it. It was the most gorgeous sunrise filled with a prism of red, purple and pink colors. WOW! It was such a reminder of not only HIS providence and power, but His love. He made this beautiful sky, and He loves us so much to paint it for us. I needed to focus on THIS and not ME and MY problems.

Do I focus on what is good; what is pure; what is lovely; what is righteous? Or do I focus on the negative. It’s a choice….every day.

 

 

Dearest Tatum,

We have had an incredible journey together this first year of your life. You have brought me more blessings than I can even express, and this is through you just being who you are! You are my gift from God: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17) You never have to prove anything to me; you never have to make me love you; you never have to worry about doing anything that would change the way I feel about you: It is a truly unconditional love. You may wonder how that is possible because you’ll mess up and make mistakes and you’ll wonder: Will Mommy still love me? Will mommy still be there for me? The answer is YES.

You see, I was raised with this from my mom. But, more importantly, I learned that as a human we are fallible and make many mistakes! God showed me this true unconditional love that never fails or lessens. This is how I learned about true love and acceptance. HE taught me this and He is this. Now, as your mommy, I can show you this kind of love. This is the confidence you need to make you continue to persevere through the journey of life’s ups and downs.

Tatum, you are going to have an amazing life. I did not say it was an easy life; in fact, it will be difficult and at times, painful. BUT, take heart! You will overcome and succeed! You will make it because you will have help, you will have support, and you will have the biggest cheerleader in me and MANY others!!! You will and do have God’s arms to surround you and hold you up when you feel completely weak and defeated.

I want you to know that you are made by God and designed by Him for HIS pleasure and for good works! David said this in Psalms, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:13-16 )

Finally, Tatum, God said you were made to do wonderful things which we can discover together and it’s because God loves you so much!!!  “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:8-9)

Let’s enjoy the blessings of life! Let’s savor each day together and make the most of each day or as they say, “Carpe Diem!” I love you with all my heart and will make sure you never forget that.

Goodbye 2013!

Hello 2014! 

Love,

Mommy

 

I love you so much  

 

She’s on the mend…my little Tot. It has been a long 7 days of fussiness, frustration, and fevers. The blessing is that I was home during this time, but it also was a curse because I had NO break. She was 24/7, and I was literally spent as I’m sure she was. But now…. she’s back, and enjoying discovery.

The beauty of this age is discovery and savoring. I have filled her play area with all kinds of gadgets, including new toys she received for Christmas. This includes more nested cups, a shopping bag with various pseudo fruits and veggies, a rolling xylophone, puzzles and games. Watching her teaches me the joy of learning…she just tries to fit things where they don’t belong, gets frustrated, cries, then regroups and tries another option. I don’t want her to give up, but she looks to me to rescue her from her frustration. I just smile and say, “It’s OK Tate…you got this!” She continues despite this and moves on…perfect!

Currently I’m reading a book called Mindset by Carol Dweck. It differentiates between a fixed or growth mindset and that we all have one or the other.  She notes, “praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals–personal and professional.”  I want to create a love of learning and a resilience in her which I can only foster by letting her work through her failures and frustrations, yet with STRONG encouragement and support. (leading her to a GROWTH mindset!) What counts is learning and embracing challenge not IQ or what we have to prove.

I love her so much, and I just want her to be able to handle all that comes to her knowing that I have her back and God will give her the wings and the boost to soar!

Postponed until Saturday, we celebrated with the family! Of course, the annual picture had to precur this lovely event which happened an evening prior at the be-EEKING hour of 5pm. Now, I knew that having a dog and a 13 month old sit still for a picture while we wait for the camera was a feat unto itself. Then, to have the 10-second lag was sure to make a disastrous pose. So we did a warm-up. Would you believe this was the best one!? Pictures are so funny…they capture a single millisecond of pseudo-perfection (hah!) only to regroup to reality: Chaos!Finally, we are ready now to have a Christmas with the cousins at the Kramers! Saturday arrived, fevers were gone, Kramers were healthy, we were set! Sadly, no Christmas brunch in our jammies and awaking to a understuffed Christmas tree, but James was making salmon and the girls, Nyla and Morgan were excited to hang out, so this trumped the other.

 

Morgan received her “puppy” or to be exact, her polar bear which looked a lot like a little Coti!

Tatum nestled next to James, and it made me see how much she enjoys a wonderful man holding her! Who wouldn’t!? This is a prayer of mine for her, that she would have this in her life always. Until then, I am so thankful for Kel and James 🙂

It was a beautiful dinner of BBQ Salmon by Chef James and delish salad and potatoes from Kell. Taters enjoyed eating the taters and tried salmon. The mango made her scream which confused me then I realized it was because it was the mango from the spicy salsa. Oops! Too spicy for the Tot tongue.

Driving home, the sunset reminded me of God’s beauty and His love for us. What a lovely day!

One of the challenges of motherhood or really any new endeavor is the gray area. Our nature wants roundness; smooth edges; closure….ANSWERS! Yet, when there is no absolute yes or no or  an exact black or white, frustration builds because why? We are not GOD! (pride issue of course!) So, with Tatum, it is the ultimate test. I cannot control every little thing and I cannot understand every little thing. Perhaps it’s pride or just the need to know, but whatever it is, it darn near drives me bananas. Such the case with this last week. Every day, same thing. Wake up. Take her temp. Calm her fussiness. Calm more fussiness. Pull out my hair (sight unseen)…and shake my head in wonder. Just five days ago, Doc said it was just a flu that needed to work itself out. Her ears and throat were clear. So…. what then!!??? This is when Google gets its run for the money. Every possible question goes in the search box..and I get a million answers and various blogs.

Finally, after 6 days, I called the doctor again. She went in only to find out she did have an ear infection AND blisters on her throat. He said that her symptoms were viral or were due to the ear infection, and he could give her meds to clear the ear! I was actually thrilled to hear this because I got my round answer to complete my circle of questions. Now, she is on the mend after only two doses. And me? I’m relieved.

Last night, she woke up constipated and let me comfort her. It made my night 🙂

 

And so it goes….. This was not the usual “get together with the family and open gifts and eat” day. A simple day. A day to truly remember the reason for the season…not gifts…not the tree..not the decorations, but sacrifice and togetherness. My mom, Tatum and I spent the day resting and just being. Poor darling still had a fever waning and waxing from 99-101.

I put her red riding cape on and took Coti and her out for a little walk…just to get some fresh air!

Mom had delicately put out some gifts for Tatum which she enjoyed for a few minutes.

Curious George made her wince and more curious as he popped out of his steel box.

The rocket car had her rolling around, albeit backwards, but rolling! We said, “It goes Vroooom.”

and she actually said, “Vroooo” Hee!

Once I turned her around, she was raring to go!

Sadly, about 1:00, the fever kicked up again and she was making it apparent with her fussiness. I put her down for a couple hours and that helped for a bit. It was a trial and error period for the rest of the day of what could make her feel better. This was getting harder, and I know it was just frustrating for her.

After a stab at a bite for dinner, or a spoon actually, she came out…my Tater! She makes me crack up. Coti would drop the ball at her and she would pick it up and give it to him! Adorable! They were playing catch hand-to-me style. Then Coti would thrash his head with the ball and Tatum would copy him shaking her head and making herself laugh. Hilarious!

So, our Christmas with the family is postponed until Saturday. Although, today was great to just spend with my mom and Tatum. Tomorrow, I will call the Dr. and see if there isn’t something I am missing. I just know she is ready for this to be over, and so is her mommy and grandma!

Merry Christmas! Jesus was born today to remind us that His love and His presence are the true gifts; He was born to die for you and for me and thus pay for the forgiveness of our sins. He was born to die on the Cross that we might be reconciled to God. Thank you, Jesus.