A girl who speaks her mind

The other day I discovered a beautiful thing, depicted in the above photo. Here you see Suzi watching a movie and Ivey sitting with her as they enjoy one another's company. I can't leave the room with them sitting together like this. Suzi might just decide to jump out of the chair and Ivey would fall down, or something like that. It makes Ivey so happy to sit with Suzi, though, and I can fold laundry or do other right-there activities. I just ran upstairs a few minutes ago to turn Suzi's Twilight Turtle back on and she told me "I love my sister." Awwwww!

Ivey also enjoys sitting up in the floor to play now, and Suzi sometimes joins her

I love this one :-)

Ivey had her first taste of food on Thursday. We bought an avocado and squished it up for her. She mostly just played in it, but I think she may have actually ingested about a teaspoonful. Most of it ended up on her clothes. We could have pureed it and mixed it with breastmilk to make it easier for her, and we may yet. I just thought we'd try it by itself first. I tried it too for the first time (my parents never ate avocados) and it had an interesting nutty taste that I imagine might grow on me if I keep eating them. Not sure I will though. There are so many other things out there I like better.

We went to yard sales yesterday and got some cool stuff. Lots of colored pencils, crayons, markers, and paper products for Suzi, a tiny model skeleton, one of these (an "expanding sphere," I discovered after a bit of searching), an educational kit of optical illusion activities, and more, and that was just from one sale. Also got some clothes, a little fabric, and a little stable for Suzi's horses to live in. We love our yard sales.

The funny thing is that Ivey loves the "expanding sphere" more than anybody. We make it bigger and smaller in front of her and her eyes get big, she smiles, and she flaps her little arms. In general, Ivey has started showing a serious interest in toys. She loves Sophie the Giraffe, and I'm so glad because I hate to say it but when I received this toy in the mail I thought, did I just pay $20 for a squeaky dog toy?!? Now I can confirm that it is worth the money. Ivey loves how soft she is and her ears, feet and neck are just the perfect size to chew on. Plus, Sophie is cute. I'd buy another one if we lost this one. (No one gave me anything to say this. Which is unfortunate.)

Over the weekend we've noticed how... independent and strong-minded Suzi is becoming. She doesn't hesitate to stand up for herself. Yesterday we stopped for lunch on the way to Jordan's parents' house and let her play in the play area at Chick-Fil-A. She yelled at some boys (between 4-8 years old, I'm guessing). Apparently they were in her personal space, but this sort of thing can't be helped in a crowded play structure. Later at Nana and Papa's she scolded one of the cousins, wagging finger and all, because she thought he'd stolen her Mardi Gras beads. He was just an innocent bystander though. Her social skills might need a bit of work, but honestly I don't mind too much. I think in time she will begin to recognize when this behavior is appropriate and when it's not. Besides, I wonder if anyone would even blink at Suzi's reactions if she were a boy. I don't want Suzi to ever withhold her true feelings because she's trying to be a polite, proper southern girl. She needs to be able to assert her independence if someone tries to talk her into something she doesn't feel is right. If this trend continues into the teen years, I definitely won't worry about her being pressured into trying drugs or sex! Therefore, when she mistakenly gets after someone this way, we gently explain what is really going on and sometimes she apologizes. We don't try to make her guilty or embarrassed over it.

There is now a goal date at which time I am going to leave Ivey home with her dad for several hours, and it's April 6th. I have always wanted to learn to make pottery (mugs mostly) and my mom and I are going to take a beginning wheel throwing class together at our local arts center. My brother Paul makes gorgeous pottery and I've always been kind of jealous. I would love to one day be able to make that perfect mug that is just the right color and size and shape. I have one I love that my brother made but it is often dirty. I also use different mugs depending on what mood I'm in. This one is my favorite.

Anyway, Ivey will be staying home with Jordan for three hours one or two evenings a week for five weeks. I am already pumping here and there so Jordan will have milk for her, and she'll probably be eating solids too (she'll be 8 months old). We'll go ahead and introduce a cup at this time, as we don't really see any need to start using a bottle this late in the game. She may even decide to wait and breastfeed when I come home, but I want there to be options just in case. I'm excited about doing the class with my mom. We might suck at making pottery, but at least we'll have fun trying. If we do suck at it, they also offer a basket weaving class and I'd love to learn that too!