Noella- 9 months
Noella is still a big girl- 20 lbs (90th percentile) and 29 inches (75th percentile).  One and  a half teeth (on the bottom).  Crawling all over, cruising while standing, putting everything in her mouth.  She now knows the word "no" (and, as my mom asked, can distinguish between the "No" sound as part of "Noella" and as part of "NO NO"), although she doesn't really like it.  She does put on a very funny pout in response, though.  She LOVES eating, particularly anything she is allowed to feed herself.  Also cups of all sorts.  In other words, she is right on track. 
I would take a picture but 1) she won't stay still (unless, perhaps, she is chewing on something forbidden, like a camera or cell phone) and 2) Patrick too my camera to Kansas City.  So my attempt at a picture may come soon.

Can we start over?
Day One of having our nanny come without her son.  Its been an intense (and stressful, and exhausting) month as his behavior deteriorates into more severe autistic tendencies.  Mariel's crayon colored carpet incident was a relatively benign example, but it was become clear that his very constant and immediate needs were really interfering with her ability to take care of, supervise, and be fully attentive to my kids.  So he is going elswehere for now, and after he turns three will be in more intensive therapies.
This has not been what any of us thought we were getting into.  So she and I talked this morning, at great length, about what I have been unhappy with and what I am hoping to see.  We both seem to agree that about 90% of my concerns relate to his presence and how her attention has been compromised more and more. I guess we have a starting point, an idea of what I don't think was going right.  Now we have a new situation, and are figuring out what to work in order for to feel good, confident, and fully comfortable.
It is such a strange experience, trusting your children to someone else.  You are never (or at least I have never met anyone who is) completely happy with everything.  And you don't want to be too over the top controlling, even if you would rather do everything yourself, your way.  So maybe I let too much go unsaid- and after today I have probably said too much.  In this, as in everything else, I think I have to let go of the idea of finding a balance. 
I hope we can start over, try this again, reevaluate.  I want this to work out, want to feel as comfortable and happy as I did when I hired her in May, before her son's problems really went downhill.  But am I stretching too much? Hoping for too much?  Its a relationship as much as an employment situation.  So we will see how this week goes.
I am so tired.  I spent most of the weekend wrestling with what I was going to say to her and trying to figure out the framework for my concerns (its not easy to tell another mother you are not confident in her judgment about supervisions or discipline!).  It was a fairly emotionally stressful morning (coupled with a VERY wierd meeting on campus today).  But I have work to do (after not getting anything done this morning).... and miles to go before I sleep...

Little Bunny Foo Foo, a la Mariel:
Little Bunny Foo Foo went hopping through the forest
scooping up the mice-field and bopping them on the head
Down came the Good Fairy, and she said:
Little Bunny Foo Foo, I don't like your aptitude
scooping up the mice-field and bopping them on the head
I'll give you three chances, and if you dont stop
I will turn you into a lagoon.

The Apple and the Tree, or What Goes Around?
I came home from a reasonably low key day at work today, caught up with our nanny before she left, nursed Noella, played with Mariel, and eventually made it upstairs to put my work bag away.  Hudson had puked all over the floor in my bedroom (red and chunky) so I was less than pleased.  I went into the bathroom to find a roll of paper towels and cleaner, and discovered that Mariel had been in there and left clothes on the floor.  When I went into Mariel's room, I found crayons, a coloring book, and a large patch of newly blue carpet (our carpets, so you know, are beige). 
I called the nanny to find out if Hudson had been given anything to eat during the day (it turns out that while kids napped and she cleaned the kitchen, the dog may have snatched a grape or two from their lunch leftovers- not enough to be poisonous, but apparently enough to come back up).   I also (oh so casually, as I am sure you can imagine) mentioned the crayon colored carpet.  Mariel had asked the nanny if she could go upstairs to color in her room, away from Noella and the nanny's son.  Since Mariel was quite emphatic that this was normal and allowed, is often allowed to have quiet play in her room on her own, is generally pretty good, and (as the last post reveals) is big into coloring, the nanny quite reasonable let her go.  This was NOT normal, has NEVER been allowed, and apparently the freedom just got away from her. 
I was pretty mad, but can't help but recall some stories from my childhood... such as when I convinced a babysitter that the pet guinea pig was always allowed to roam the house freely.  Lets just say the guinea pig took advantage of the newfound liberty to find a place to hide.  And stay hidden.  Bye Bye guinea pig! 
I told this story to Mariel at dinner, who wisely noted that this was not a good thing for a kid to do and "you were just like me, Mom."  
I consider myself warned.
PS- Thanks to Patrick, the carpets are all clean again.  Ready for tomorrow.

A budding Picasso

We are in a new artistic phase- it happened very suddenly.  Mariel is spending more time in her own made up world these days without needing our interaction as much.  Her drawings and "writing" have become much more deliberate and planned out and sometimes have elaborate story lines to go with them.  She tells me that the top picture is one of the sky and the bottom picture is one of a dinosaur.