An Ode to the Little Arm

When Jane was born, everyone told us she would figure out her own way to do things. That's something that it kind of hard to really believe when you've never seen it for yourself. I spent the weeks after Jane's birth trying to do tasks one handed - everything from driving a stick shift to getting dressed. I wanted to prove to myself that she could do it. But in doing so, I didn't take two things into account. 1) Jane really will figure out her own way. And chances are that the ways she figures out to do things won't look anything like what I would figure out for her. And, 2) Jane doesn't just have one hand. She has one hand and one little arm. Since Jane's birth, she has figured out how to use the little arm in ways I would have never imagined she would (or would want to) use it. Here are some of her favorite uses for her "residual appendage" as the doctors call it, or her "little arm", as Emily dubbed it in the delivery room and as we have called it ever since.


I was dumb to ever worry Jane wouldn't hold a sippy. She has no problem whatsoever.

Things must feel differently to the little arm than they do to Jane's hand. As a result, she rubs everything, really EVERYTHING on it to see how it feels.

The little arm is great to use for stability while the right hand gets into anything and everything.

This is what it looks like when Jane holds something with her left arm. It makes her shirts so gross that many of her clothes have passed the point of no return, but I don't mind. It is great for her to be able to hold onto something (in this case a bit of quesidilla) while she turns her attention to something else for a moment.

A bit of formal wear for the little arm.

I don't have a picture of this yet, but Jane uses her little arm to turn the pages of board books.

Jane's favorite use for her little arm: holding a blanket against her face while she sucks her thumb. This is her default position.

And last, but not least, Jane does crawl with her tummy off the floor.

I'm sure Jane will keep surprising me with new ways to use her little arm. I'm sure each new use will be even more creative than the last.

All You Need is Love

This year, we decided to do something crazy for Valentine's day and actually celebrate. I know it was made up by greeting card and chocolate companies, but sometimes it's fun to just have something to celebrate in the middle of the long, dark, cold winter.

We kicked things off with a party for our playgroup the Friday before V-day. It ended up being a great time for the 13 - 4 and under (yes, I'm pretty sure I am sane) that came. We decorated sugar cookies and then the kids played, pointedly ignoring my "toss the hearts in the mailbox" game.

Here's what Emily's finished product looked like. I had to cut her off from the pink sprinkles or she would have used the whole bottle:

Why would I invite small children over to decorate cookies? Well, here's why: We're planning on getting bamboo floors for the family/dining rooms and I wanted to seal the deal, put the final nail in the carpeted coffin and leave us with no choice but to go forward. The kids didn't destroy the carpet as thoroughly as I had hoped, but we still have plans to drive down to D-town on Monday to pick up our lovely bamboo floor. I'm totally excited. Betcha can't guess what I'll be blogging about in the near future...

So then, on Saturday, Chris gave me chocolates and roses and I made a super romantic, gourmet, after-kids'-bedtime meal for Chris and me: Crab Alfredo for dinner and Chocolate Cakes with Liquid Centers for dessert. I have linked the recipes because the egomaniac in me says that some of you may want to recreate my dinner (and dress up like me while you cook) but I won't post any pictures of the meal itself because 1)I didn't take any pictures and 2) Is it just me or is my blog becoming too obsessed with food? Instead, here's a cute picture of Emily dancing with Jane:

The List

We left the allergist's office yesterday feeling downcast. Emily was carrying a back full of hives and I was carrying a list. That infernal list.

Here's what the list says:

Egg
Peanut
Wheat
Tomato
NO TREE NUTS

(he wrote the last item in capital letters to emphasize the fact that tree nuts would be life threatening)

I knew about the egg, was well aware of the peanut and would risk death to protect Emily from tree nuts. I had no clue - none whatsoever about the wheat or the tomato.

Six weeks. That's how long the doctor told us to take Emily off of those two ubiquitous items. She's not severely allergic, but he said it may help her skin. MAY help? I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it. Emily has always been a picky eater and most of her diet consists of items containing wheat dipped in ketchup or sauced with tomatoes. She refuses to eat any variety of meat and 90% of vegetables. The only two vegetables she will eat are corn or tomatoes.

After she rejected the wheat-free mac and cheese I made her for lunch, she ate a bowl of Rice Krispies. I don't blame her. It's terrible (even though it was about a thousand times more involved to make than the stuff in the box). So was the sandwich on brown rice bread that made up last night's dinner. She couldn't even bite through the bread. How long can a human being survive on Rice Krispies?

So now two choices lay before Emily - eczema or malnourishment. Yesterday, the allergist was acting like eczema was worse. I'm beginning to disagree. I've had eczema for thirty years and would never, never, never give up wheat to be cured.

So now I get the choice of being a bad mom for starving my daughter or a being a bad mom for aggravating my daughter's eczema. It seems like that's how most choices are when it comes to motherhood.