white apples . a blog

on choices and avoidances

Goodness, where did the baby girl go? Just one year ago, she had that chubby, squishy baby face and chubby baby arm rolls and whispy, barely-there baby hair. Now she is a tall, skinny, chatty, curly-haired kid, with heaps of opinions and preferences and quirks. And a healthy helping of stubborn.

When she decides that she is sleeping at my mom's house, she holds my face in her little hands and says, "Ohhh, you sad, mama... It okay. I'll be back tomorrow morning and then you'll be happy." 

"I don't like that!" is the most oft-heard phrase these days. Followed closely by, "Let's have some ice cream."

After a few months of moderate success, we are currently experiencing a potty-training rebellion. Whenever I suggest sitting on the potty, she sighs and says, "Just change my diaper, ma."

She likes to point out all the things that Owen can't eat because "He have no teeth." In fact, he has six. 

Like all toddlers, she's an eerily astute observer and mimic of adult behavior. Never before has it been so important to set a good example. Or more difficult. It is humbling to have all your bad behavior mirrored back to you on a daily basis.

For example, how do I teach love and respect and awe for all animals when she witnesses me on the back deck yelling and cursing and flapping my arms like a madwoman at the very indifferent deer who is trying to suck tomatoes through the "deer-proof" netting on my vegetable garden? 

She gets so excited when I start making something for her. She asks over and over, "Is it ready? You're making it FOR me?" This dress is the Kyoko pattern from Modkid. My plan was to make it out of a light, summery floral fabric. But when the pattern showed up in the mail, Juni fell in love with the example on the front of the envelope. She insisted that I make her a dress just like that one. With the birdies.

The power of choice - it is an incredible thing for a two-year-old. Lime green wouldn't have been my first choice, but the fabric is pretty and she's thrilled that she got to pick what she wanted. "You made this FOR me? This nice, nice dress? I love it! I looking like a movie star!"

(Fabric is from the Flora and Fauna line by Patty Young for Michael Miller)

seek some dewdrops here

My little barefoot garden sprite is perfectly at home puttering around the backyard these days, smelling the flowers, digging in the dirt, and waving to the geese overhead. We build fairy houses and search for gnomes and make "sand castles" in the garden beds. 

Earlier this Spring, she spent quite some time transfering dirt from the flower garden to the vegetable beds with her little spade. The fruits of her labor are evident amongst the veggies now. Zinnia seedings are popping up everywhere. She couldn't be more pleased.

The weather is hot and humid and, after a few big storms, the vegetable gardens are taking off (much more than in the photos below, which were taken several weeks ago). The tomato plants have gotten absurdly huge. Unwieldy. They are elbowing each other for space in our little bed and most certainly crowding out some Swiss chard and edamame that I planted nearby. Beets and carrots and sweet onions are plumping up. Herbs are begging to be used. The silly amount of peppers that I planted are fruiting. Juni and I visit the plants daily, marveling at how well they seem to be growing despite my lack of any kind of horticultural know-how. She reminds me that tomatoes don't taste good, but carrots do.

Juni's simple, peasant-style dress is a pattern I drafted based on a shirt that she already had. The fabric is an organic cotton print from Cloud9 fabrics. Loose and flowy and comfy, it is perfect for a day of garden play.

pool days or love-and-hate

and away she rides

Every once in a while, in the crazy whirlwind that is toddlerhood, a moment, an idea, an experience stands out as transformative and magical. You can almost feel things clicking into place, as her worldview grows just a tiny bit. As mamas, I think we chase those moments. We yearn to create them. We run after them out in the big, wide world. We hoard them and protect them and manipulate them, all for the pure joy of watching our little one learn about herself and her world and for the selfish satisfaction of knowing that we are creating beautiful memories for her.

These are the things, the moments, that she talks about in the dark, just before she closes her eyes to go to sleep, when her mind races through her day and her words come tumbling out in a great rush and I can't tell whether she's talking to me or herself or her doll or the stars outside her window. That's how I know what moments have crystallized in her memory. That's how I know what she cherishes.

The big lesson for me was realizing how simple and small those moments could be. Riding a carousel. Running through a sprinkler. Building a fairy house. Baking a cake. Topping a pizza. Picking a blueberry. Splashing in a puddle. Meeting a new friend. A few days ago, Juniper was completely enamored with an ant that was crawling on her arm. "It tickles! It TICKLES! You're so tickly, Ant!" Later that night, she reminded me about the ant that visited her arm in the garden and gave her a tickle. Sometimes those moments are so small, it is easy for me to miss them all together.

Other times though, something big and new and wonderful comes along and I know my little girl will have much to chat about that night. A first. A first can't help but be magical in some way, right? Last week, Juni got her first horseback ride, thanks to her Grandmom. What is it with little girls and horses?

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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inspired by Amanda Soule. join in on her blog.

seven months

This guy. This goofy, smiley, snuggly guy. 

The milestones keep flying by. He is amazingly strong and mobile.

He can crawl and sit and stand and walk while holding my hands.

He already has two bottom teeth. Now four top teeth are poking through all at once.

He loves to laugh and play with his big sister.

He is bursting with sweetness. And he's a very good listener.

He likes roasted butternut squash and baked sweet potatoes and zucchini with millet and anything he happens to scavenge off the ground.

He says mama and dada.

He gives big bear hugs and giant slobby kisses.

He melts our hearts into big puddles of goo on a daily basis.

This guy.