Baby Uma

rainbow fairy

2009-03-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

February and March

2009-03-30T17:34:00.000-07:00

Check out our trip to Phoenix and a bunch of strawberry related pics.....

Belated birthday pics

2009-03-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

Uma's birthday party!

New bike from Grandpa Kitty

Three!!

2009-02-02T11:45:00.001-08:00

reflections on uma turning three

2009-02-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

Uma today is three, and thats a magic number (just ask Schoolhouse Rock). She is such a beauty and such a character.
Although the twos were a many splendored thing, I have to say I am really looking forward to the threes. In the past few weeks she's started asking so many questions, "What do dolphins do? What do swings do?"
It's absolutely amazing to think of how much Uma has changed just since starting school in September. She has gained so many social skills and graces and is such a little lady now. We joke sometimes that she goes to charm school.

In no particular order, here is a list of qualities Uma displays at onset of turning three...
*Uma sings all day long. Her entire life is a musical.
*Uma needs everything to be "just so", she's quite the perfectionist and rule-follower. This may be the death of me later in life.
* If one tiny drop of anything should happen to fall upon her clothing, she must change it immediately.
* Uma is fiercely determined. Once her mind is set on something, look out.
*Everything must be pink or sparkly. It's not my fault, I swear (although I do push the rainbows).
*She is ecstatic playing with any ball.
*Her imagination and fantasy world is rich. She lives with fairies and gnomes.
*She loves performing, anything will do as a stage.
*She talks about her cousin Lucas everyday.
*Uma loves wearing dresses, and must have somethings that twirls if she is dancing.
*She loves choosing her own outfits, and her creations are hilarious.
*Uma is still incredibly shy. I still have to apologize to new folks who she gives the stare down.
*Although Uma is still a bit pushy and "large and in charge", she is certainly a very polite little girl.
*She still insists she is terribly afraid of ''maskes" (and face painting), although somehow clowns are okay.
*Uma loves to cuddle and cuddle and cuddle.
*Her recent obsession is preparing for her little and big sister. We have no idea how these are coming to us, but she is certain.
*Recently I asked her if she wanted a daddy and she said emphatically, "No, I want a puppy."

uma's holiday slideshow

2009-01-05T18:27:00.001-08:00

Lila lisps

2008-11-29T10:58:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Uma officially changed her name to Lila. I have no idea how this notion got into her funny little head, but she corrects us dozens of times a day " I'm not Uma, I'm Lila". Its been going on for about two or three weeks now, at first it kinda freaked me out, I wondered if this was a symptom of some multiple personalities or something but now we've all settled into calling her by her chosen name. Hopefully, this will pass. Funny, because they say everything is just a phase but some phases seem to last quite a while. For instance, last Halloween Uma(Lila) had no interest whatsoever in putting on a costume and lo and behold this year, although she talked about costumes for a month, when it came down to it, had no interest in being any sort of furry animal she had chatted about being endlessly. The good news is that she will now put on most other items of clothes and that is significant.

Uma's (Lila's)little Waldorf school has been transformational in her development, she has blossomed so much in the last 3 months. Her teacher is like Glinda the good witch from Oz, pure magic. The environment and activities she does with the children are so homespun, nature-centered, and sweet. Entering the world of Waldorf is like learning a new religion filled with fairies, gnomes, and angels. I love it. I'm never a true "joiner" of any one philosophy or group, but I do love everything we've been learning along the way. My motto, though, for parenting and beyond is "a little bit of country, and a little bit of rock and roll".

Since beginning school, Umalila (as she sometimes refers to herself), imaginative play has grown so much stronger. She will play by herself for huge stretches of time (thank you, goddess), happy with her own company and the worlds she creates within. This is monumental, as she has had me on such a short leash (just like her short umbilical cord!) She is a wonder to watch at parties, talking to strangers (!), playing with other kids, just having a ball without clutching to me for dear life the whole time. I have been in awe of her transformation.

One somewhat funny thing Uma(Lila) has caught from school is a lisp. One day she came home and it was like her tongue had swollen to double its size. It was a bit worrisome at first, I even asked her teacher about it. Upon further investigation, I realized it was her little new best friend who lisps, and this girl is absolutely darling. So, now we have a little girl name Lila who lisps. Isthn't that sthweet?

uma on stage

2008-11-02T15:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a two minute clip of Uma being quite spastic but classically Uma.

all hallows eve

2008-11-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

2008-11-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

Autumn!

2008-11-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

first days of school

2008-09-15T16:21:00.001-07:00

Uma has started pre-school! Her little in-home Waldorf is just as sweet as it can be. I have been so excited for her to have this time to herself, and for me to have time to start up my little dream business too. I really didn't think I'd cry dropping her off on the first day of school as I have been so excited for the break but as soon as I said goodbye to her and walked out of the house I felt it bubbling up and as soon as i got to my car I was a blubbering mess. My little girl is so big! She wore the cutest outfit ever too. She was just so damn cute.

Later in the day, we went to a friends birthday party and they had rented a karaoke machine. We were watching everyone make fools of themselves and then Uma started to run around a bit so I went to the kitchen to talk to some friends. Next thing I know, someone said,"Who's up?" and everyone started shouting my name. i went in to find Um in the front of the crowd, a huge mic in her hand and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star cued up for her. She sang the song in front of everyone all by herself! No prodding!

yummy summer

2008-09-15T16:16:00.001-07:00

august slide show

2008-09-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

Farewell to summer

2008-09-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

Uma had a rocking summer.
We milked August for everything it was worth. It was one adventure after another. In the beginning of the month, we decided to go camping with another mama and daughter- one that I taught for over three years at Trillium. We headed out to central Oregon to a destination called the Painted Hills. it was gorgeous- red striped hills and sunflowers under a periwinkle sky. We camped out for two nights, hiked around a bunch, and even had a very close encounter with a rattle snake! I nearly stepped on it with Uma on my back. we escaped unharmed but with adrenaline pumping for some time afterwards.
When we got back into town, I was felling to escape into nature again so decided to take uma to a 3 day sacred music festival called Beloved. It was incredible. Gorgeous music throughout the day and night with performer from around the world singing their hearts out. It was located in the coastal range on a beautiful property and there we found many friends, both old and new. We both danced and frolicked so hard that each night we both nearly fell over with exhaustion. I teamed up with another family we know and love, and we set up a tent for our kids to sleep right near the stage. It was phenomenal to se the kids sleeping peacefully as African drummers or Pakistani ecstatic singers belting out their music.
The last few weeks we've been berry picking, hiking to waterfalls, going to Sauvie's Island, riding bikes, and just trying to soak in summer's last rays. The next chapter awaits....

june and july

2008-07-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

uma and matejo

2008-07-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

this takes a minute to load...be patient!

party dress

2008-07-23T21:46:00.002-07:00

almost two and a half!

2008-07-23T21:46:00.001-07:00

It's been a good couple of months since I've written anything about lil Umie's development into humanhood. It's all J.K. Rowlings fault, as I devoured her entire series in this span of time. Now that I've finished, I can finally be a productive human being.

Uma will be two and a half in a few days. She looks four and acts like she's going on 13. Our neighbor called Uma "large and in charge" when she was only a few weeks old, and she was spot on. I've had to hold back from starting to say the mantra my Mom said to me my entire childhood, "Because I'm the Mom!". She is already bossing me around and telling me what to do. Sometimes this is funny and cute, sometimes not. Half of the time she acts like a darling toddler, the other half she is a bossy African- American grandmother.

She has so many little sayings these days. Six weeks ago she started trying to make her sentence structure a bit more complex by putting the word "because" in the middle and then basically repeating herself. days were filled with phrases such as "I really need that lemonade because I need that lemonade" or "I need to go to the park because I need to go the park". Then she looks at you with her eyebrows fixed and lips all a pucker. As the weeks have passed, she is now becoming a bit more logical with her use of 'because" but the take home message is usually consistent with "I want that because I want it". Who can blame her?

Other charming phrases she uses constantly:
1. "I was just doing something" (useful in many situations)
2. "Alright, now" (employed both sweetly and demandingly)
3. "Be calm." (whenever she wants someone to be quiet, used with large sweeping gestures)
4. "Do you hear me??" (used menacingly)
5. "Mama, you are not going to noga(yoga)!" (going to yoga means that I'm going to go someplace w/o her. Used anytime she sees me put more than two minutes into my appearance, wear earrings, etc.)

There's more, but those are the ones that are in the most vogue at the time of writing. She is fully conversational now. She always asks "Remember..." and pulls something funny out of her memory. She still sings all day long, the whole day like a campy musical aria.

Uma delights now in wearing her "party dress" which is any dress that is lacy or flowing. She now has a vague concept of princess, but truth is she is much more of a diva. The good news is that we just passed out of the incredibly irritating phase where she refused to wear almost any of her clothes. She insisted on wearing one of two outfits for over a month(including sleeping), but now she's open to wearing new things again-thank goddess.

We've had an awesome summer so far. We've had a tons of visitors-my dad and then friends from exotic locations such as Maui, Philadelphia, Amsterdam, and Brooklyn. We've been on countless picnics, gone to the beach three times, went to the Oregon Country Faire, and we just returned from 3 days at delightful Breitenbush- a hot springs retreat center nestled n the forest. It was at Breitenbush that I was finally able to DROP HER OFF with some fantastic mamas and call it 'kid camp". This may not sound like a big deal, but Uma has not historically been a "drop-off" kind of child. It was so amazing and adorable how she took to it. She loved it and felt really good about herself for going as well.
Another first this month was her first haircut- at a salon! No pics to prove it but she was lovely.

Last but not least, Uma is pretty much potty-trained! It's been a very interesting month of huge successes and plenty of smelly laundry, but she's doing a great job. She looks so damn cute in her underwear.

bake sale!

2008-06-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Uma's May

2008-06-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

Obama Mama!

2008-06-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

Woo hooo!!! I may be premature, but I think tonight Obama will get all those little points he needs to win the nomination!
It truly is the first time in my life that I feel hopeful about the state of the world. I friggin love that man. Uma does too. She talks about him all the time. We have now seen him twice, and Uma loves the energy of the crowd . She knows his campaign's little logo and will spot it all over town.

We had a fabulous month. Uma had lots of firsts. She saw a broadway show(Sesame Street Live), rallied with Obama in a crowd of 75,000 people, got a mani-pedi at a salon, learned how to pedal her trike, and rode her first fair ride all by herself!

And....drumroll........she's signed up for a pre-school in September! I found the most wonderful in-home Waldorf school that has been facilitated by an angel of a woman for the last 18 years. I nearly cried three times during our tour, it was so magical and lovely. Turns out, she had room for one girl! Yippee!!

uma slides, sings, and spins

2008-05-03T15:32:00.001-07:00

uma in april

2008-05-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

The tyranny of toddlerhood

2008-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a good six weeks since I've posted anything. My good friend in Amsterdam filed a complaint and so I figured it was time for an update. Uma is doing great. She's such a trip. She sings all day long, yodels off tune, states her needs emphatically, and delights in dancing.

She has so many little sayings now- if she does want something, she'll say "I'm good", she knows how to bargain for just "one more time", and she will have an entire conversation with you about her day. One sweet thing she started doing recently is telling other kids or animals that's "it's okay, you're mommy will be back soon". When she talks to her friends, she tilts her head and crouches down, talking to them like grown-ups talk to her. She uses the same intonation as adults do when they talks to kids. It's pretty damn cute. She always refers to herself as Uma Kucera. In her pretend phone conversations with her friends she'll say "Hi! How are you? It's Uma Kucera. you good?"

She has started clutching onto books like they're stuffed animals, going to sleep holding one tight. Her facial expressions are hilarious. She has so many funny little faces.
She is incredibly athletic, at the park she's climbing ladders, rock climbing walls, etc. The girl isn't afraid of anything. She loves her scooter, yesterday she went around the whole block, scooting away.

Uma continues to be incredibly intense as well. From infancy, the girl has had the ability to throw a massive fit. When she was tiny, she would go nutters in the car, worse than any other kid I've met. I know that other kids can throw fits, but dear Uma takes the cake. These days it's usually around getting dressed. She would live in her purple skirt or rainbow dress if she could. Getting her to change clothing has become incredibly challenging. She insists on wearing sandals with socks. She refuses to do anything with her hair. If you even sneak in a ponytail, as soon as she sees it in the mirror she'll freak. Hopefully this will pass, but once she sets her mind on something, you better watch out. It's hard to know when to engage in battle and when to let it go. To engage means setting yourself up for 45 minutes of torture. To let her have her way is dangerous too. Ahhh- the tyranny of toddlerhood. The good news is that for such a pretty girl, she is certain to be strong as hell.

Having taught school for many years, I've seen what happens when kids see how well their tantrums work and I know I've gotta hold the line- but it's never easy. We do time-outs which I really wish I believed in more. It's usually (almost always) around the issue of calming down. She just builds and builds, and although the time-outs get her into even more of a state, when she comes out she is ready to be human. It breaks my heart, but I honestly often don't know what else to do.

Some confessions....Although I'm shamed to say it- she loves chewing gum. Yep- I give the girl gum. It was a weak moment that now has turned into a habit. Also, much to my chagrin, she would happily watch movies all day long if given a choice. I think it's because her molars are coming in that she just wants to be entertained sometimes, but the girl begs for Mary Poppins. She adores it. I battle with this as it is certainly easier to have her quiet in front of the screen, I can actually do things that need to be done, but it racks me with mommyguilt.

As for me, I've decided to start taking small steps to get my little dream progressive kids bookstore/ radical mamas cafe/ community resource center going. I was pretty depressed about it after going to the workshop, realizing that the start up costs were huge and the profits could be tiny, but I still love the idea and want to move forward with it. I'm about to embark on the task of writing a business plan, hoping that I can find some angel investors to back me up. That's the only way it's going to happen, but I feel pretty optimistic.

Either way, come this fall, Uma will be ready for pre-school and I will be totally ready to pour my energy into something creative. Wish us luck!

uma and froggie kucera

2008-03-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

our purplesaurus

2008-03-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

cheesing

2008-03-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

st.patricks day poop

2008-03-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

It's official. Uma had her first poop on the toilet on St.Patty's day. It was actually really exciting. You all knew it was all a matter of time until the blogs changed from tooth talk to potty talk. Well, here we are. There's not a ton to report, she's peeing on the potty, not fully "trained"at all. What does warrant comment is how gender-specific those pull-up diapers are. What's up with that? It's all trucks or princesses.

The last 6 weeks have been absolutely nuts. We got back from Mexico (aaahhhhhhhh) and immediately starting packing up our entire house to move. Our landlords moved into our home. Needless to say, I'm not a one-car mover anymore. Any past identity I used to have about being a light packer or without material items has totally changed with motherhood. Uma has a ton of crap. And trying to create any order and packing with Uma nearby is an oxymoron. Having a kid is such a great opportunity to identify any type of control issues you may have.

Anyways, our new house is stunning. It's more than double the size of our old house. We're still in the same hood, about 30 blocks closer to downtown. We have an incredible view of the city and are a couple blocks from 3 great coffee shops including a a cooperative socialist one, a vegan "mall" including a convenience store, bakery, and tattoo parlour (?), gay bars, dive bars, a children friendly restaurant, awesome Thai food,and a wicked playground. The flowers are all out- daffodils, cherry blossoms, daphne, camellias, euphoria. We are happy. Of course, every move just gets better, no matter how inconvenient it may feel.

Uma loves the new pad- her room is the whole length or the house with tons of windows connected by french doors to my room. she even sleeps in her own room (half the night). She is just talking and singing all day long. She has lots of new tricks up her sleeves. She's incredibly athletic at the playground, she can climb the rock wall and hang from the bars herself.
Uma knows her full name. She calls herself Uma Kucera, Uma Moses, Annabelles Kucera, etc. She calls me Mama Kucera or Clay-er, and sometimes Clara Kucera. She named Kermit, her favorite, Froggie Kucera.

As for me, it's so hard to believe that it's already spring. Since I left teaching, it's just been a windwhirl of activity. I don't regret leaving but I do feel clueless about where the winds of fate connect with my free will. The summer was sleepless, then came the fall with the walking pneumonia,next thing was weaning which spurred our getaway to Mexico, then the move.
I can't believe that it's taken me this long to figure out what I am doing.

Right after we moved our things, I went to take a week-long workshop that was created for people who want to open a bookstore. I've have a huge dream of opening a progressive kids bookshop including a hip mama's political cafe and resource center. It took me a while to figure it out, all the little peices, but then it crystallized and felt so perfect. I have hundred of books chosen already that focus on social justice, ecology, peace, tolerance, gender, multi-culturalism, diversity, family structures, feelings. I just love researching all the books!

I attended the workshop as wanted to learn the nuts and bolts before embarking on this huge endeavor. I felt so optimistic, as it seemed like the perfect accumulating goal with all of my past lives put to good use. I'd be able to put together all of my experience as a buyer, a bookseller, a teacher, and a mama. By the end of the workshop, I felt a little less excited as the take home message was that this would be a labor of love, a fulfilling career with no hope of ever making a dime. It's fuel for this fodder. I still love the idea, I feel like it's a perfect niche for me, I just want to make sure I'm savvy. In the meantime, I'm finally unpacked and grounding down, exciting for all of the clouds to clear.

Our month in Sayulita

2008-02-10T16:48:00.001-08:00

If you'd like to see last years trip and see how much Uma's grown, click here

Happy Birthday, Uma!!!

2008-02-02T17:40:00.000-08:00

Twenty-three months and loving it

2008-01-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

Uma and I have been in Mexico for a almost two weeks. We have settled down in the same town we came to last winter, Sayulita. We arrived during the holiday season and the gringos were a plenty. Apparently, the New York Times cited Sayulita as the number one best winter get away. So much for unknown little beach villa. In the last few days, the masses have cleared and it’s the same sweet place that we remember.
Uma adores Mexico. The first few days were a bit spotty, as she was out of her little routine and comfort zone, but now she is totally in her element, a dirty little nina with a wild smile on her face, running around like a loony bin.

We have established our daily rhythm which goes something like this: wake up with the roosters, scramble down to the zocolo (zokeo) for some coffee and hot cocoa, feed the ids, run around, watch the early morning surfers, eat some breakfast, head to the beach, swim, build holes, dodge the tide, take a nap on the beach, come home and play in the pool, eat guacamole (wokawohlie), watch the sunset, run around the garden, go the the zoloco at dark, get a sweet treat, climb and jump off of everything, get extremely dirty, and come home and go to sleep. That’s our day.

Uma loves to find other little routines throughout the day. Every time we walk over one bridge, we look for the big beautiful brown cow below, Uma will say “cow hungry?” or “cow sleeping?” if she’s out of sight. When we walk over the other bridge she wants to sing the Muppet show theme.
It’s been so interesting watching her little brain unplug from her normal life. At first, she sang her normal repertoire of songs all day long (alphabet, twinkle, happy birthday), asked to go to the neighbors house, wanted to watch her snowman video, and said she wanted to go home several times a day (this killed me). Now, she is totally here, asks to go to the ocean or to go to the zocolo, and babbles Spanish phrases.
Now, her “no!” is tempered by her saying “no gracias” (she hears me says this through out the day), and she will say “me gusta”, “hola”, “ados”, and “bomba” (plunger- we had to borrow one once and we learned the word together).
Uma is now fully talking in complete sentences ( in English). She is kissing me all the time, and tells me that she loves me throughout the day without any prompting. She is at once the very best travel partner and also at times the worst. She still throws fits and gets fixated on what she loves and wants, but these small moments have nothing on the joy that we are sharing.
There are tons of families here with kids. It’s so wonderful to meet wonderful folks from all over who are all here for the same reason (to escape!) There’s such a common understanding and camaraderie with parents. We get it. It’s very comforting.
More later- it’s time for ice cream.

22 months and singing!

2007-12-20T19:56:00.000-08:00

stinker face

2007-12-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

poetry

2007-11-19T22:57:00.000-08:00

I just found these two poems online randomly and I had to share them.
Took my breath away. No doubt Uma is a true goddess.

da boss

2007-11-11T19:06:00.001-08:00

click on this pic to see the world's thickest eyelashes.

hats and hair

2007-11-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

trick or treat

2007-11-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

21 months and twinkle eyed

2007-11-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

In the last month or so, Uma has taken her babbling to a whole new level. She is definitely smarter than a dog now. No doubt. For a while there it was a toss-up.

Upon waking, she loves to surprise me with her new favorite phrases.
The past few weeks she has woken me with "Uma's a rabbit, Ollyn's a bumble bee" (from Halloween), "Good morning, Kittycats!" and singing "Happy birthday to you.." in her sweet sing-songy voice.

Just in the last couple of weeks she has started speaking in sentences. "Zekey goes home eat dinner, Uma eat dinner, too", "Mama makes coffee, Mama drinks coffee", etc.

She is like a Jewish grandmother when she eats. She wants everyone to eat when she's eating, and if you finish she makes you go get more. I've had to stop gulping down my food so quickly because she shouts at me to keep getting more. "Mama, more!", she'll demand, pointing to the kitchen, waving me to go.

She loves saying making sure everyone is included "Everybody......
"Everybody eat pickles!" "Everybody ice pops!!"

Uma loves singing her little songs. Our little Nina Simone. She can sing "Sunny days, chasing the clouds away...", "I'm a little teapot", "Twinkle twinkle", "Ring around the rosie" , "abcdefg", and her absolute favorite, "Happy birfday to you".
She has the melodies down, and usually the first several words of each.
She still loves her signing time songs (this is a huge understatement).
Her current favorite is "I'm a GIRL! I'm a BOY!" which she changes up at a whim. She doesn't really get who's who but she has tons of fun trying to figure it out.

The other day, she totally floored us when she was banging on her piano and she counted perfectly from one to ten.
After that she threw in a seventeen and a two, but we were amazed all the same.

When Uma is happy, she opens her eyes real wide, puts on a foolish grin, and twinkles her little eyes for dramatics. She couldn't be any cuter.
She is so much fun.

She delights in dancing, and adores spinning rounds and round, squealing "Wheeeeeeee!"
She comes to my dance class with me and will dance now almost the entire time, engaging with other people, jumping up and down, rolling around with strangers, twirling, and doing her famous downward dog.
She loves finding her shadow and dancing with it. "Uma's shadow!"

Shannon is particularly pleased with her new skill of calling people "piggies" after they burp or fart, "Nay Nay piggie!", "Mama piggie!" with a squished nose. It;s especially cute when she burps and smiles and says "Uma piggie"
Shannon is also quite pleased that Uma continues to love poop talk,
"Uma poop, Zekey poop, Mama poop", ""Everybody poop!"

When she feels the urge, she'll yelp "UMA POOP! UMA POOP!" while she has her labor-like contraction. Soon-----the POTTY!!!

Shannon has also taught her how to steal noses, and she just loves eating other peoples noses and will agree to put them back when asked.

She loves writing with a pen, and sometimes we'll just sit together while I'm journalling and she's write for 15 minutes straight. She loves coloring, although she gets mixed up naming colors still. Once I asked her what color something was and she correctly stated "blue" so now everything is blue when asked. Actually, everything is now red when asked. It changes on a dime. It's just the last thing she got positive re-enforcement from saying.

After a lifetime of being told how much she is loved several times a day, she now will say to her dolls, "Uma loves you" and give them a big squeeze and a kiss. Cookie Monster was the first one that got this special treatment.
My twinkle-eyed little mama.

little bunny foo foo

2007-11-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

uma in october

2007-10-23T14:10:00.001-07:00

Uma in September (i know...)

2007-10-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

peanut butter gang

2007-10-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here is Uma with her two pals, Dylan and Ollyn. They are the three toddlers in our mama co-op baby swap.
They play together three times a week for several hours at a time.
Their favorite activities are eating, dancing, and fighting over favorite toys.
Dylan is super mellow and Ollyn is just as sassy as Uma.
It's perfect for the girls to get to hang out with someone equally as strong willed, to get a dose of their own medicine.

20 months and full of it

2007-10-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

Uma is talking up a storm. She's thrilled that she can now state everything that belongs to her- "Uma chair, Uma car, Uma house,Uma belly, Uma Mama". She has learned that the best way to get what she wants is not to scream "UMA JUICY! UMA JUICY! UMA JUICY!" but rather to cock her head while saying very softly "Mama. juicy please?" while rubbing her chest to sign and emphasize the please. It works. She definitely needs to be reminded to soften her tone, but this girl is no fool.

She loves to toast with everyone who has a drink as well, "Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!" We were at an art opening recently where she worked the entire room over.

Throughout the day it's "Uma hungry", "Uma thirsty", and her favorite, "Uma poop" (which means that she does poop, not necessarily at that moment though).The other night, she named every person she knew and asked if they poop, "Jackson poop? Zeke poop? ShiShi poop?..."
She is a constant mockingbird, in the last weeks echoing me twice when I cursed- certainly a wake up call for me.

She is finally getting over that walking pneumonia. It's been almost a full month of her coughing, gasping, and puking but now she only has a few episodes a day. The mountains of laundry I've done this month have been surreal. We've both had multiple costume changes a day as smelling like throw-up is less than attractive and I need all the the help I can get.

She's at the stage now where she runs everywhere. Her little feet can be heard clopping around the house, running to and fro. She delights in her Big Wheel, racing down the sidewalk, taking turns at top speed (Fred Flinstone style).

She now plays with two frinds three times a week in our Mama Co-op that I've dubbed "the peanut butter gang". It's an awesome set- up, twice a week I get 2 and a half hours off and one day I watch 3 toddlers. I've been taking yoga and Uma is learning how to share. Everybody's happy.

Most of all, the girl loves to sing and dance. She knows the first parts to many songs- twinkle twinkle, ring around the rosy, patty cake, sunny days, abcdefg, and she says "happy day" throughout the day. She even did ring around the rosy with one of her playmates all by themselves- holding hands. dancing in a circle, and throwing themselves on the ground.

Ironically, she adores this one song that is in her sign language dVds. I used to always skip it because it was all about moms, dads, grandmothers, aunts and cousins and she didn't really have a context for those concepts as we don't have any family around. One day in the car, the song came on and she went berserk, "MOM! DAD! MOM! DAD!", gleefully dancing and bouncing as she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Now every time we go on a ride she begs "MOM! DAD!"
Sometimes all you can do is smile.

obsessed

2007-09-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

Glitterfy.com - Gráficos Portugueses

Uma is obsessed with Elmo. Sure, most breathing tots are smitten with this red furry monster but Uma is truly fanatical. Did you know that the puppeteer is a man named Kevin Clash??

Not hard on the eyes, eh?
I wonder if he's single because he sure would make Uma a very happy girl if he was available.
She awakens saying "ELMO", says his name about a hundred times a day...no exaggeration. ELMO ELMO ELMO ELMO ELMO ELMO ELMO.
If you're wondering what you can do to cheer up this little sick muffin , you know what to send....

yo gabba gabba

2007-09-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

enough said.

dancing machine

2007-09-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

Uma's August 2007

2007-09-04T20:34:00.001-07:00

breakdancing baby (not Uma)

2007-08-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

Uma has been seriously inspired by this. It's a must see....

18 months

2007-08-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a sleep deprived summer. Not exactly as I had planned but probably better now than when I'm actually trying to be productive....
I feel like the little girl who called teeth. The teeth are coming! The teeth are coming!
Dag, with all that drool and sass, I'm sure something was happening but now......
drumroll....
HER MOLARS BROKE THROUGH!!
Thank you Jesus, Mary, Buddha, Krishna, Allah, Mohamed, the Goddess in her many forms......
and Thank you , Easter Bunny!!!
This has been a long time coming. I will be so damn happy when all of her teeth are in.
What will I have to blame her fussiness on then?
Will everything just be sweetness and bliss???
Oh, I can't wait till all those pearly whites are all in a row.
And to think that they all just fall out in a few years after all that hard work.
It AMAZES me that all mothers everywhere go through this teething business.
I hear for some kids that it's no big deal, but as you know, that is not our story.

There is much to report besides teeth, though.
Uma is talking up a storm- babble babble all day long.
She has a play phone conversation down-
"Hi! (giggle giggle fake laugh) babble babble bye bye!"
Very sweet.
She has some less charming phrases down too.
When she wants you to leave her alone so that she can do it herself or whatever,
she'll say "No! Bye!!"
She is a Mockingbird- today she kept saying "purple shoe" even through I don't think she knew what it meant.

Her favorite activities these days are - pushing her baby stroller and playing little mama to her dolls, playing with cars, reading books, drawing, trying to pedal her Big Wheel (very close), dancing, playing her pianos, eating berries, sliding, swinging (on the big swing), and doing everything HERSELF!!

On her 18month checkup, she is at 100 percentile for height and 89 for weight. I was so excited for her to grow for such a long time but now I want her to just be small forever. She looks like a 2 and a half year old. All the other mom's in the park are shocked to find her age.
I know I sound like one of thoooose moms, but she really is quite coordinated and socially aware for her age.
blah blah blah

So, she's advanced and crap but she is also BRUTE!!!!!!
It seriously frightens me to watch her sometimes. She is such a force to be reckoned with.

I'm starting to think God thinks that I'm very capable to handle a child with the spirit of Uma .
She is a tsunami.

At this age too, it's always hard to know whether to step in and help tots solve their problems
or to let them figure out stuff themselves.
She is great playing with kids of all ages- gentle with babies, running around with older kids,
but if she wants something and can't have it......
it's not pretty.
OR if she loves something and then it's gone.....

It seems that kids are such little Buddhas- displaying so clearly the suffering that occurs when we attach to something either positive that causes pleasure or negative that causes discomfort. Both bring the same outcome- suffering!

My little Buddha has gone 3 nights now with no nursing in the night. It has not been exactly easy but it has been very necessary.
This mama here is ready to stop the suffering of sleep deprivation. I really felt like I was on a very thin thread there for a while, going on 2-3 hours of sleep for days on end. This whole last month is a blur of sleepless nights. I understand how it could be used as a form of torture.
The end is in sight thought......
With no nursing at night and a full mouth of teeth (soooooon)),
we should be dreaming some pretty big dreams real soon here.

the truth about mamahood

2007-08-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

Most of you who check Uma's blog are here for pics and fluff.
Admit it.
I know this, and yet I have been really yearning for a place to express all the other stuff that isn't sugar and spice and everything nice.
Shocked that we have poopy days? Please....
Likewise, I have felt strange writing about myself in Uma's blog since it's about her and not me.
So.... I created an alternative blog that's just a place for me to keep it real. It's called The Truth about Mamahood
There won't be many pictures, mostly just me discussing the nittygritty- sleepless nights, temper tantrums, wondering if I'll ever date, wondering what I'm going to do with my life, etc.
If you come for the fluff, don't worry, I'll keep it coming.

2007-07-28T20:37:00.001-07:00

The big island- Hawai'i

2007-07-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

lil miss uma

2007-06-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

bring it on!

2007-06-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

freakshow

2007-06-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, everyone knows how incredibly gorgeous Uma is. Here is a slide show of her looking less than pretty. She LOVES taking these distorted pics on the MacBook. Shannon has amused her plenty of times and has taken some amazing shots. It is a little disturbing, but really hilarious.

springtime frolics

2007-06-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

a year and a quarter

2007-06-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

What Uma LOVES (in no particular order): WATER, cheddar bunnies, sand, Toots and the Maytals, cell phones, birds, pens, crayons,riding toys, buckets, books,olives, babies, DANCING, trees, shoes, puddles, graham crackers , BABY SIGNING TIME videos, string cheese, sitting in big chairs, peanut butter, apples, BUBBLES, balls, berries, mirrors, sitting on the stoop and greeting strangers.....the list goes on and on

What Uma hates: not getting what she wants.

That pretty much sums it up. The girl loves what she loves and if she doesn't get it when she wants it...you're gonna hear about it. She is what they call a "spirited child". The girl is SO happy when she's happy but when she's pissed, it's not very pretty. She has such a spark to her. A woman said the other day that she has diamonds in her eyes....

She is such a devilish angel. So many tricks up her sleeves now. She's talking up a storm, all day long making a sing-song commentary on life. She speaks in gibberesh sentneces all day long, where she clearly knows what she's talking about because she'll nod her head or shake it . She points out things all day long and signs them all day as well- tree, dog, water, shoes, baby, cat, book, ball, truck- there seems like one of the above is always in clear sight.
Some of her favorite ramblings are wawawwawawawawawawawawa and MOMMYmommyMOMMYmommy MOMMY.
She now knows how to say her name and will sit in front of the mirror, singing her name to herself- oomaooomaoomaoommaaaaa.
Other uttering you hear all day with Uma are "uppy" for up and "uh-oh" as she throws most things overboard.

She is outright obsessed with the Baby Signing Time DvDs we get from the library. She will wake up and first thing she'll do is say "baby?". She's run to the TV and sign baby with such passion. She adores it. I have to admit I like them too. We've learned a bunch of signs by now, and the silly songs are so darn catchy that everyone in the house has them eternally stuck in their head. Who would have thought that I would be driving down the road, jamming out to a song called"These are the pets I love"?

The girl has some new moves too- she now has a booty shaking dance that I adore. Her moves include stomping , wiggling, and twirling to any resemblance of music. She has a rubber band-legged run that she uses in any type of store that has wide aisles- boy does she love running amok in stores. Makes you realize that there's a very good reason for all supermarkets in town have those clever racing car shopping carts.. They work. I came to this stark realization one afternoon after school when Uma was upset (see reason above) and a kind stranger saved us with his cart and escorted us to the check-out. I almost cried I was so thankful.

She is such a big girl now. She loves sitting in big chairs and reading books. She'll have no highchair or little bites portioned for her- she wants the whole enchilada. She wants to eat only with a fork or spoon, and she prefers the big ones, thank you very much. A friend said to me today that I can expect that stage to last another 18 years.

She strung her first two words together a few weeks back, "bye-bye, baby". She repeated it over and over when she learned it, so tickled with herself. It is pretty darn cute when she says it to Meshi or Shannon.

In other news, I finally came out to my students and parents at school and told them I wouldn't be returning next year as a full-time teacher. This year has really stretched my human potential. Sleep deprivation plus a very chaotic/creative school filled with "spirited children" is quite a combo.

It was so hard to tell my little clan of kiddoes, but I know in my heart that I want to spend as much time as I can with Uma, and create a pace that invites relaxation, calm, and openness to our next step in life.

p.s. still no new teeth.

springtime video!

2007-05-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

You gotta see Uma in action in this video. The first several takes were captured by her nanny, Jess, in the nursery at school.
I tried, somewhat successfully, to have Uma show off some of her new skills as well. She is more like a cat than a dog, however, and does just as she pleases....

wild child

2007-05-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

I was talking with a friend the other day, telling her that my child was not mellow. "Why did you think you'd have a mellow child?"
"I'm mellow!" I screeched.
"Exactly" she replied.....

Uma is such a stinker. I think they made her so cute because they just knew what a stinker she would be. So FULL of it. "It" being lifeforce, gusto, bravado, passion, and determination. All wonderful qualities that will serve her well when she runs for president one day.

Uma is a wild child. Ever since our trip to Mexico she has been a force to reckon with. You can take the girl out of Mexico, but you can't take Mexico our of the girl. She uttered her first "no!" on our last day of our trip and in the last month has perfected her use of this word. She schools everyone in the nursery.no, no, no, no. She tells the cats "no!".....It's frightening.
Apparently the terrible twos start at 14 months.
She is learning very slowly the concept of sharing. It is absolutely horrifying to see her walk up to a child, grab something of theirs and then refuse to give it back. It's the "caveman" mentality that all one year olds possess but embarrassing nonetheless.

She tempers her caveman side by being the most precocious flirt. She used to always be the kissee but now she is the kisser. She'll pucker up and give away the wettest kisses.

She is such a hoot these days. She is so fun. She has dozens of words now-hi, bye, up, uh-oh!, shoes, apple, book, ball, bird, wa-wa (water), door, meemee (milk), Ow for cat, and her absolute favorite word- bubble....
She knows all of the names of the kids in the nursery as well as our neighbors.

It seems everyday she has a new trick up her sleeve.
She now does sign language for many animals and she just mastered "thank you".
Gotta teach them manners while they're young!

Despite all of my claims that I would never be called "Mommy", she now does exactly that. I have no idea how she got that ,as I always refer to myself as "Mama". I hate to say that coming out of her mouth, it does sound terribly sweet.

To quote my pal Paula Noel,
having a baby is like getting the most intense butt kick from the world's most gorgeous angel.

moms rising!

2007-05-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

hanging with da boys

2007-05-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

uma's pals in the nursery

2007-05-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

If you'd like to see all of Uma's pals in the nursery and her goddess nanny
just click here
There is a ton more to write and share. Very soon......

mama's favorite outfit

2007-04-21T22:12:00.002-07:00

Cool Slideshows

bath time!

2007-04-21T22:12:00.001-07:00

Cool Slideshows

Sayulita

2007-04-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

mexico!

Click the pic above to see gorgeous pictures of Uma's first trip to Mexico!!

Hola!
Uma and I have just returned from a phenomenal trip to Sayulita, Mexico. We went with a band of merry folks including Shannon the super nanny, Luta- the grannyola, Josiah- the wonderboy, and other wonderful friends. We rented a gorgeous house for ten nights. It was called Casa des Angeles- it was a lovley casa with a gigantic yard filled with bouganvillas, coconut trees and almond trees.

Uma LOVED Mexico- she was so free and alive! She relished in her senses- tasting and touching everything imaginable. Her appetite for life is so amazing! By the end of the trip, she seemed like a real mexican kid- running around the zocolo, filthy, making friends with everyone, devouring avacadoes.....

She was an incredibly mellow traveller considering what a stinker she can be. She slept the whole way there and back, taking a bit of time to flirt, but otherwise unconscious.

The village of Sayulita was perfect for us this trip. It was filled with families and like-minded travellers ( many from Oregon). The town itself is pretty tiny and after thirteen days we felt like we knew it pretty well. Our days rolled in and out with ease. Our rhythm was pretty simple. We'd wake, eat, beach, drink, eat, explore, eat, drink, and sleep. It was perfect- days filled with flowers, sun, water, mangos, avacadoes, pineapples, japonese nuts, fish tacos and mexican doughnuts.

Uma adored the beach- she revelled in the sand. She loved the tactile experience. She chased the ocean for hours on end. She let us hold her in the waves and she delighted in spinning by the seaside. She couldn't get enough of it. It was so wonderful to see her in the elements- so alive and vibrant. In the afternoons, she would run around the city center plaza- the zocolo- chasing pigeons like a madwoman. She made up her own bird-dance as well. In the evenings she would lead us around the zocolo by hand, flirting with biggest and scariest men and making friends with tots her size as well. The mexican women especially loved her. We were stopped all the time with "Que bonita!".

After about 9 days, Uma was eaten alive by mosquitos. She had huge lumps on all over her face and arms. I felt horrible but she hardly suffered at all. By the end of the trip, we joked that she looked like a kid we found in the streets that we were taking back to the states.
She was covered in bumps, absolutely filthy, with a wild look in her eye.

On our very last day, Uma learned the word "No". Actually she says "nononononononononono" and it is frightening.
This girl is such a force. She will miss the sweet freedoms of Mexico, but she will return.

yippeee!! mama's got a new camera!!!

2007-03-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

Cool Slideshows

Babies for Peace!

2007-03-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

Photo Booth

2007-03-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

My camera broke last month, so here are a bunch of pics taken on with the photo booth on my laptop.
As taking pictures of Uma is my very favorite past time, a replacement will be found very soon.
Just click on a picture to enlarge it.

Cool Slideshows

13 months

2007-03-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

It's SPRING here in Portland. Wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous spring!
Everything is blooming. It's yellow and pink all over.
Uma is now 13 months old! I have been such a poor blogger, and my excuses are many. Let's just say this- being a single working mother is OVERRATED!!!
It makes one entirely too busy. I could go into details, but I'll spare you as it's an archetype we all know in this culture.

I miss my days of lounging around with Uma and taking long walks and smelling flowers. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Dag, I enjoyed myself so much on my maternity leave. I relished in every moment. I knew that going back to teach school this year would be an experiment, and I knew it wouldn't be easy but I had no idea the toll it would take on me. I love the kids, my co-workers, and the entire school community, I just wish we had 3 day weeks. A two week vacation every month would be nice too. Teaching itself is a huge job, it takes every morsel of your energy...combine that with sleep deprivation and chasing after a babbling one year old and it's not very pretty at times.
I just miss spending all my time with Uma.....

Uma, however, is fine. She loves school. She gets so much attention, it's ridiculous.
She is doing so many amazing things.
She blows kisses and waves (now without any prompting).
She does sign language for more, milk, eat, sleep and all done. She pets the cats gently.
She says WOW appropriately.
I tell you, the girl is a wonder. She loves to dance, and to passionately throw herself into furniture.
Her greatest joy these days (besides kissing herself in the mirror) is opening and shutting things over and over and over again. Putting lids on things, taking them off.
This is a stage that lasts a while apparently. It keeps her real busy.

She has all of these new expressions...she knits her brows together in a scorn (pretty funny), she pops her eyes out in excitement, she cocks her head when she is looking at something.
The girl is non-stop entertainment.

She is such a stinker. So firey and determined yet so absolutely adorable and beautiful.

She's even getting her top two teeth!!!! If you've been following the blog, you know she's been kinda behind in the teeth area of development, so we are anxiously awaiting the newbies.
This teething business is such a trip. I swear it's been my excuse for everything since she's been 2 months old. No one told me that the first 2 years of every baby's life are spent in fevers and illnesses induced by these bone daggers. Who could imagine that we humans could be so poorly designed? I know that it probably is perfect as it builds our immune systems or something, but the sleep deprivation is something else. I felt like I was hallucinating a few weeks back after a week of "teething".....
But it will all be worth it to see her smile with four whole teeth.

cell phone pics!

2007-02-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

my camera is on the fritz so I thought I would share some of the best pics caught on the cell phone recently. no particular order...

look at my teeth!

here Uma asleep in the Cadillac of all carseats...

Uma at the Urgent care (she had a ear infection!)

happy birthday dear uma...

2007-02-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

uma's first birthday!!

2007-02-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

puckered up for a kiss

2007-01-31T20:43:00.000-08:00

corn chip blessings

2007-01-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

january sunshine

2007-01-31T20:40:00.000-08:00

twinkle toed tiger

2007-01-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

after the thaw

2007-01-19T19:49:00.000-08:00

We are thawing from the HUGE SNOW FLURRY 2007
where we got a whopping 3 inches of snow that shut our dear city down for 3 days.
It was great fun.
Portlanders are weary of snow but they sure are serious about playing and creative locomotion.
Everyone in town is out playing in the snow it seems.
You can see folks on home-made dogsleds. cross country skiers going down the street, snow shoers, and bikers braving the snow. Kids and adults alike sledding down the middle of neighborhood streets.
A few folks may go out and shovel with their garden hoes but the city hardly owns a single plow.
We just shut the city down and play.
A walk around the hood will find dozens of snow-creatures, and even a giant igloo!
Yep, P-town even had snow fun go awry with a snowball stabbing, fatal inter-tubing accident.
Keep portland weird!
Ms. Uma had a ball during the storm as she just started walking a few days prior. It was days of running around the house, dancing up a storm and taking trips in the wagon. Uma even did a little sledding of her own in a huge Tupperware container pulled by twine.

The girl is screeching up a storm. She does her little robot/frankenstein shuffle across the house, screaming at the top of her lungs like a little girl;. Fitting, eh? She is very pleased with herself, that is for certain. It's as if she's yelling "I'm doing it"
I think one of the motivators for her to begin walking is the fact that she can now hold many things AND locomote. She loves having something in each hand while she walks and scream. Damn, that makes her happy. The girl is certainly driven, that's for sure. She is very steady on her feet now, after just a day or two of walking she made huge strides (literally). When we finally got back to school after the snow melted, she was a pro.

It's so bizarre to see her walking around. She's such little person now. It kills me.

The last 2 weeks or so has been a huge leap for Uma cognitively. You can almost see little lightbulbs going off for her. It's so delightful to watch her become aware of the world around her and to watch her personality develop. She is such a stinker!

She now says "DK" for Duke, our big black cat. She generalizes this for all the cats now (formally, the kkkttts). She even said "DK" while petting some soft fur in a book she has. So smart!
She also definitely says "Nene" for Shannon,and she exclaims "WOW" and "ooohhhhhhhh" in appropriate moments. Hilarious.

Her favorite item, the cellphone, is rarely eaten now as she now prefers to pretend talking on the phone. This is ridiculous. She holds the phone up to her ear and pushes out her lips and then "merp merps" strange pretend-talk noises. It's so funny because these noises are obviously her mimicking adult talk, similar to the wahwahs of Charlie Brown's adult voices. She does the same trick without the phone too.

Uma loves music. Uma does her signature head bobble/stevie wonder sway at any little ditty, showing that she registers the presence of music (even if it's off tune). She shakes her head, jumps up and down and shimmies. We spent a lot of time dancing together on those snow days too. I love that I have such a fun dancing partner!

She is such a baby cub, rearing up, throwing back her head and pouncing, tumbling into bodies. She throws her head back with such momentum that she nearly falls backwards. Luckily for her, there has always been someone or something soft to break her fall.

She loves to initiate play. She hides under tables and in corners so that she can jump out and peek- a- boo. She is such a stinker. The open/shut and in/out games delight her.

Whereas Uma has been the recipient of many kisses, she is now the kisser. She loves kissing other babies, especially her pals in the nursery at school. She gives big sloppy wet ones. She likes to leave her mark. She also loves hugging her dolls and balls, swinging back and forth as she holds them tight.

Her first birthday is in two weeks. It's so incredible. This year has been the most miraculous year of my life.

UMA WALKS!!

2007-01-17T09:40:00.000-08:00

stilllife with blocks and a ball

2007-01-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

velveeta in a cow sweater

2007-01-16T21:33:00.000-08:00

Uma pushing her wagon in the snow (!!!)

2007-01-16T21:32:00.000-08:00

going in for the kiss

2007-01-16T21:31:00.000-08:00

zeke and the girl next door

2007-01-16T21:29:00.000-08:00

Uma;s first official "hammed up" photo (in a snowsuit!)

2007-01-16T21:28:00.000-08:00

hugging dolly

2007-01-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

yippee!! it's a snow day!

2007-01-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

teeth and snow!!

2007-01-16T21:24:00.001-08:00

uma's happy place

2007-01-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

walking with sippy

2007-01-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

Uma's new best friend- Rody

2007-01-08T20:45:00.000-08:00

happy new year from team 703- Uma, Mama, and the Umettes!!!

2007-01-08T20:39:00.000-08:00

here's a family portrait of us all here at 703.
we're extra sparkly and bedazzled as we are getting ready for our Gem Sweater Baby New Year Party!!!

pretty gay

2007-01-08T20:38:00.000-08:00

sweet queen uma's rocketship

2007-01-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

ho ho ho

2007-01-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

chillin with aunt tink on xmas

2007-01-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

first time in my new fancy wagon!

2007-01-08T20:31:00.000-08:00

Blizzard 2006 at Grandpa Kitty's

2006-12-22T21:43:00.001-08:00

Cool Slideshows

10 months and dancing!!

2006-12-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

It's been well over a month since I've written anything on this blog. Pitiful, really. There is so much to write, so many milestones and levels of cuteness Uma surpasses daily, and I have been a very poor documenter.

I don't know if it's that I am trying to just soak up every moment I have with Uma so I don't have time to write or if it's just my utter exhaustion from teaching and working that I haven't kept up. Either way, enough self- depreciation and more baby appreciation.....
First the milestones....

**Uma has been standing squarely on her two feet unassisted for about three weeks now.
**She made it to the top of the stairs about a month ago and now is a champion, non-stop stair climber extrodinairre.
**UMA CUT TWO TEETH!!! (the apex of the teething pain was on thanksgiving- quite fun)
**UMA TOOK THREE STEPS TODAY!!!!

As I write, I am at my father's house in western foothills of Denver. We have been here through the blizzard- apparently the fourth worst ever in Denver's history. It was awesome. It snowed 39 inches in two days. We got to hang out with Grandpa Kitty (my dad), Tanya, Uncle Casey, Aunt Mak, and Uma's only cousin (that she knows)- Lil Lucas. We had good fun. Uma charmed them all with her sparkling personality and they all took such good care of her. Very sweet.

Uma ran around my father's house like it was an amusement park all day long. She loved his stairs and walking around his kitchen pushing empty boxes like they were walkers. It was seriously a workout keeping up with her.The girl is so determined. She has a Taurus rising , an Airies moon and Mars on her ascendant. The girl knows what she wants and goes for it. She goes with a gusto wherever she decides to go and if anyone tries to impede her- WATCH OUT!!!!! She is gonna be one strong woman, that's for sure!

While we were here, Uma really brushed up on her dancing skills. She has five distinct moves down now. She has had many of these under her belt for a while but now she pulls them out with such flair that they are worth noting.
1. The "Stevie Wonder" rhythmic head swaying
2. The "no-no-no" dramatic head shaking
3. The "ya-yea-yea" spastic head throwing (to Guns and Roses today)
4. The "Elvis" - where she is on her knees and she thrusts herself up dramatically
5. The "Ride-em cowgirl" when she's on all fours and she bucks her knees and feet up.
(The last two listed are quite strenuous and challenging for grown-ups!!))))))

As we have been in front of the TV way more than normal this past week, she would start dancing whenever she heard a jingle or song or tune of any sort. She is such a HAM!!!!

Below is a video I found on YouTube that I think is awesome. It is not Uma, but her soul sista- Lil Beyonce!!

uma's new hat

2006-12-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

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