Do You Color Her Hair?

Believe it or not I've been asked this question on more than one occasion by total strangers.

One such incident was a few weeks ago at the grocery store check-out counter. I responded with the usual, "no, her hair has been changing colors since the day she was born. It started out as dark as mine."

"That's so cool" the young girl replied. "I have a friend who has hair like hers, it's three different colors and she won't dye it because she likes that it's different."

This possibility never occurred to us. We always assumed it was in a state of transition. Could it really be her natural color ... or in this case, colors? In fact, when I first noticed the blonde roots I later realized that the roots were still two shades of brown in some areas.

Her granny has joked that no matter what color hair she choses as a 50 something adult she can point back to a baby picture reflecting that color and declare that it is her natural color.

These pictures were taken this evening after dinner. I didn't use a flash as to have the most natural light possible. It's dark brown in the back, lighter brown (appearing slightly auburn in some light) on the top and blonde in the front and underneath.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

M Fight

A Glorious Day & a Refreshing Perspective

Many of you know about our speech therapy frustrations.

We've had an Early Intervention SLP (who is also a feeding specialist) evaluate Maryn a few times, but the results were always the same. She wasn't overly concerned about her issues, would suggest a few things and come back 6 months later for another eval. We were determined to get more consistent speech/swallowing therapy shortly after Maryn turned one, but it was difficult enough juggling two weekly therapist appointments (PT & OT) amongst everything else while temporarily living in another county. We decided we'd wait until we were back in our house.

Yeah, we moved back almost 3 months ago. After about a month of the previous SLP not returning my calls and another month of phone tag with our coordinator we were finally able to schedule anther SLP. She came today. Her name is Karen. She is pro-active, and I just loved her!

Unfortunately she lives quite a distance away and therefore won't be the specialist who works with Maryn weekly, but she must have said five times over the course of her 1.5 hour evaluation, "Don't worry, I'm going to get someone in here to help you." She's recommending weekly ST, with 1/2 the session focused on feeding and 1/2 focused on speech. She wants us to try another nipple for her bottles and work with some different cups. She's recommending another hearing test (the last one was when she was an infant) which we'll be able to set up through Easter Seals. She's recommending the nutritionist come out again, to reevaluate the situation now that she's made some progress with table food. She thought it couldn't hurt to have an evaluation by a developmental therapist (the last one was at 3 months of age) to make sure other things aren't missed.

In my mind she fits right in with Maryn's current therapy team. They are professional, skilled, knowledgeable, pro-active educators who see how all the pieces fit together and we are so thankful for their unique and holistic perspectives.

Who Dropped the Avocado?

I love this shot from dinner last night. Mike and Maryn both looking for 1/2 of an avocado that took a trip under the table.

No, I don't usually have my camera with us when we're out for dinner. I had it in my purse because the girl and I had just spent an afternoon at the Children's Museum.

I just couldn't resist the soft light in this room and I thought I'd get a snapshot of the two of them, when suddenly it became an action shot.

Nicknames

Of which there are many...

M

Ryn

little girl

Merelise

baba ganoush

baba

baby noush

cutie noush

baby lish

little lish

merbear

m.e. (pronounced emmy)

meranetta

A Lasting Imprint on our Family Culture?

Ever read a book that changed your life? ...or an essay, story, or article?

I'm lucky enough to have been able to answer yes (to varying degrees) to this question multiple times. I'm finishing what for me has become another of these books. I could have easily completed this book in one day, given the uninterrupted reading time. And I did read through most of it fairly quickly, but now I find myself sadly lingering over the last couple of essays with the realization that it's almost done.

And, you know ...there is something that distinguishes this one from previous gems. One of the last ones (I'm sure Anjie and Jackie remember), would have been life changing for me no matter when I read it. It would have had an impact on a young twenty something Brigit just as easily as the soon to be mid-thirty something Brigit (34 this August-Yikes!). Many of them were like that. This one is different.

If this book crossed my path even a year ago, I know it wouldn't have had the same significance. And forget about 2-3 years ago-I never would have read it! I think I had to spend that last year reading all that other stuff to fully appreciate and be open to it. Isn't that just amazing? Me and this book, in the same place -public library that is- at the right time. I just stumbled onto it. I was there looking for something else!

And the other day, I realized there are several more books by this author on the same topic (unfortunately not at our library). And another author quoted often in the book has also written several books. This one is likely just the tip of the iceberg!

The content that resonates with me will likely impact our future in scary, exhilarating and, hopefully, hugely satisfying ways.

And while I'm on the topic of our latest life changing catalyst ... could you say the same thing about a television show?

Hmm ...

I'm sure there are some out there, but I can't give an affirmative response to that question, and certainly not multiple times over. This is one of the many reasons we decided, as a family (well, really Mike and I, Maryn doesn't watch any), to drastically cut back on our screen time. It wasn't easy at first, but it's honestly been one of the best decisions we've made for our family. We don't get cable!!!! Can you believe it?

Now, don't get me wrong ... our house isn't completely TV free. Sometimes I watch a little news in the morning before Maryn is up and we do occasionally watch Modern Family, The Office, 30 Rock, and random public television programing, but that's about it these days.

Laundry Made Easy

This is our closet changing station.

Yes, the old buffet is missing knobs. That just makes it rustic, right?

The additional storage provided by the closet is nice. Keep in mind our house is probably over 100 years old (we're not sure - we just know it was moved to it's current location in 1920-I didn't realize they were doing that sort of thing back then), so we're fortunate to have some decent closet space.

Many of the smaller toys we rotate are temporarily stored in the tub on the floor. Diapers are hidden above the cubes on the shelf.

I love that I can close the doors and the chaos disappears. But I couldn't talk about this closet without mentioning that dark blue bag. I bought this while shopping at Ikea a year or so ago. They have bags like this for use in their store if you prefer not to navigate a cart through the masses, but I hadn't realized they sold them. I impulsively bought one at the self checkout. I'm such a good consumer. I can't remember when I thought to use it for little Ryn's laundry, but it's so fantastic!

First it's HUGE -the picture is misleading. I can let the laundry go much longer without worry of it spilling over.

It has two sets of straps. One set for over the shoulder and shorter straps for a more compact hold. Scary not-to-code stairways are often part of the package when living in an old house and it's made the basement trek much less dangerous than carrying a regular laundry basket or hamper out front.

No more traditional laundry baskets for this girl!

Maryn is quite fond of helping with the laundry. She mostly pulls clothes out of the bag, but occasionally imitates folding in the most precious way.