Tatum sits down with the geese at the LA County Arboretum. You should have heard this girl chat it up with her feathered friends for about 10 minutes. They seemed to enjoy her company.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
And She's Off
The boob that is. It's official, Tatum is no longer a breastfed kid. Most of you reading this are probably checking out the ticker at the top and thinking Tatum is 19 months, why is she still on your breast anyways? Maybe not. Andrew was thinking it, as I have been since she turned one and I started the weaning process. But honestly, looking back, I didn't so much wean as simply stop. So here we are, seven months later, and we, Tatum and me, are officially separated by bodily fluids, except for my wet kisses.
For those that read this blog regularly, I posted some time ago about going off the pump and onto the formula. That was when Tatum was about 10 months old and I reduced our feedings together to before bed and in the morning. The before bed feeding was dropped one random night when Tatum was 14 months old. Andrew was out of town, and I decided to get Tatum in her nighties in the living room instead of the bedroom to break up the routine. When I set her down in her crib for the night, she gave me a questioning look, then took her blankie and went to sleep. Just like that, the feeding was gone.
But, ah, the morning feeding, that's the feeding that gave me an extra 15 minutes in the bed during the 6am hour. She is in the room with us, so I wake when she does. Tatum is my alarm clock. The morning feeding is my snooze. Nevertheless, the morning feeding was dropped this past Tuesday when Tatum slept in and I needed to leave the house to get to work. So I left her sleeping and went to work. Andrew said she woke up, said "Momma?" and went on her merry way to eat her breakfast yogurt. The next morning I got her up, we went straight for the yogurt, and she was happy. So that's it, we're done; and I have yogurt to thank for making it so easy.
Another chapter ends in our life as mother and child. It's bittersweet for me: sweet that she growing more independent and bitter that she's growing more independent. Being a lover of ritual I thought I would somehow observe the last feeding in some sort of way. But the experience ended without knowing it would. And such is life. Whooosh, there it goes.
For those that read this blog regularly, I posted some time ago about going off the pump and onto the formula. That was when Tatum was about 10 months old and I reduced our feedings together to before bed and in the morning. The before bed feeding was dropped one random night when Tatum was 14 months old. Andrew was out of town, and I decided to get Tatum in her nighties in the living room instead of the bedroom to break up the routine. When I set her down in her crib for the night, she gave me a questioning look, then took her blankie and went to sleep. Just like that, the feeding was gone.
But, ah, the morning feeding, that's the feeding that gave me an extra 15 minutes in the bed during the 6am hour. She is in the room with us, so I wake when she does. Tatum is my alarm clock. The morning feeding is my snooze. Nevertheless, the morning feeding was dropped this past Tuesday when Tatum slept in and I needed to leave the house to get to work. So I left her sleeping and went to work. Andrew said she woke up, said "Momma?" and went on her merry way to eat her breakfast yogurt. The next morning I got her up, we went straight for the yogurt, and she was happy. So that's it, we're done; and I have yogurt to thank for making it so easy.
Another chapter ends in our life as mother and child. It's bittersweet for me: sweet that she growing more independent and bitter that she's growing more independent. Being a lover of ritual I thought I would somehow observe the last feeding in some sort of way. But the experience ended without knowing it would. And such is life. Whooosh, there it goes.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The New in the New Year
Oh 2010 - you've already brought to my face so many grins caused by that crazy silly girl named Tatum Bell.
And India, our cat, has become more and more tolerant of Tatum's generous displays of affection.
As you've seen, Tatum was on Santa's nice list and received a few fun and practical gifts for Christmas including a baby, a baby stroller, and a potty. Now I know it's too soon to start potty training (or is it?); but it was a huge, wrapped gift under the tree. So the potty, like the baby and stroller, are for fun and amusement. Tatum is hilarious as she asks for toilet paper and sits on the toilet practicing.
She continues to love and be awed by dogs. Her favorite is a dog named Max. This shot is from Christmas Day.
Her vocabulary continues to grow as she adds new words: milk, kitty, baby, Audry (daycare friend), Ailer (daycare friend), Tootsie (daycare dog), and a slew of Spanish words that I don't know. Yep, my daughter speaks Spanish, but we don't. So Tia and Ceci from daycare keep us informed of her new speaking developments. Know when I write that Tatum is speaking, it is mostly words that only her parents, or daycare, understand. So that is why I am at a complete loss for the Spanish words.
Tatum's favorite thing in the world is YOGURT. The girl wakes up and goes to the fridge asking for it. When she comes home, she walks to the fridge and asks for it. It is a most delicious treat. In the Tibetan culture it is a sacred food and there is a three day performance arts festival to celebrate the importance of yogurt to the Tibetans. So she knows what's up and we make her a bowl and let her enjoy feeding herself. Tatum does not like to have any help when eating. Except at the end of the meal when she needs help to scrape off the yogurt off her chin and onto the spoon for another bite. And yes, sometimes two spoons are preferred. Tatum is a true believer that because she has two hands, food or a utensil should be in both. So snacks are always given in twos, one for each hand. For the two bowls pictured here, one is yogurt, the other apple sauce.
Tatum's favorite thing in the world is YOGURT. The girl wakes up and goes to the fridge asking for it. When she comes home, she walks to the fridge and asks for it. It is a most delicious treat. In the Tibetan culture it is a sacred food and there is a three day performance arts festival to celebrate the importance of yogurt to the Tibetans. So she knows what's up and we make her a bowl and let her enjoy feeding herself. Tatum does not like to have any help when eating. Except at the end of the meal when she needs help to scrape off the yogurt off her chin and onto the spoon for another bite. And yes, sometimes two spoons are preferred. Tatum is a true believer that because she has two hands, food or a utensil should be in both. So snacks are always given in twos, one for each hand. For the two bowls pictured here, one is yogurt, the other apple sauce.
And India, our cat, has become more and more tolerant of Tatum's generous displays of affection.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Walking into a New Decade
Happy New Year from the Shearer Family!
We hope you walk into the new decade with laughter, love and a good pair of boots!
Holiday Card 2009 - we couldn't get the Christmas cards out soon enough, so we opted for this New Year message.
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