Who is Champuru? 
Aloha, I'm Donna, known everywhere on the Internet as "Champuru." I'm a Christian, blissfully wedded to my perfect match (the yang to my yin) of 15 years and a stay-at-home mom to my miracle baby, born in October 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from my hometown, seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest. Read more on the About page.
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Dot-Com Days
In the days before dot-net.
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I will be the first to admit that I am the Queen of Overshare. In fact, I am well-known for my propensity for describing in great detail things that some people might not even discuss with their mother-in-law. I blogged about everything from my failure to conceive naturally, to every doctor’s appointment, surgery, and procedure I endured as I was undergoing fertility treatments. As expected, I took you along for the two-year long ride on my emotional rollercoaster, too. And, the big news: I was pregnant and then the fun really began! Pregnant women have a never-ending laundry list of bodily weirdness and emotional turmoil going on that’s amusing to share and fun to discuss with other moms who have walked that path. Then, the culmination of years of hopes, dreams, and prayers: the day I gave birth to Baby Champuru. As crazy as it sounds, I am infamous for tweeting through most of my labor.
Up until October 2008, it was all about me. Not saying that it was a good (or bad) thing, but ever since Baby Champuru was born, it’s been about 95% about her. Champuru.net officially became a Mom Blog.
Thanks to my blog, I have received a ton of valuable insight from other moms about a variety of challenges. As new parents, we can use all the help we can get. But on the other hand, I also share a lot of information about Baby Champuru. Dozens (hundreds?) of photos of her are posted on my site. It makes me wonder if I should change the way I blog — for her sake?
Fast-forward 15 years: Would Not-So-Baby Champuru want a record of her every move and milestone on the Internet for the world to read? While I think it’s definitely a good idea to keep a journal of some sort of these precious moments, should it be kept under lock and key — to share only with family and close friends?
Personally, I enjoy reading a handful of Mom Blogs. I love the connection that goes on there. Shared experiences, encouragement, and insight. Admittedly, photos make any blog much more enjoyable than one that text-only. Being able to see the kiddies of fellow Mom Bloggers growing up right before my eyes is just precious. On the other hand, are we doing our children an injustice by creating a public presence for them before they are even capable of giving their consent to do so?
As you can see, I’m torn about the whole issue. What’s your opinion?
As an aside: I didn’t realize it, but apparently us Mommy Bloggers can be annoying to some people, too. There’s a blog entitled STFU, Parents dedicated to exposing the Internet’s worst oversharing offenders. I guess not everyone enjoys hearing about my baby’s gargantuan poop in the car seat?
After we returned from church on Saturday night, I was rushing around getting ready for bed. Hubby and Baby Champuru were playing in the bedroom. I had a glass of water sitting on the desk. Baby Champuru signed and said the word water, indicating that she wanted a drink of water. Hubby took the glass and held it to her mouth. She said “no” and patted the floor in front of her, indicating that she wanted him to put the glass down. Which he did. To his surprise, she took the glass in both hands, lifted it to her lips, and began to drink. Unassisted.
We had never taught her to drink from the cup on her own. We had always held the cup to her lips, tilting it ever so carefully so as not to pour too much water in her mouth. This was the first time she drank from an open cup without help.
She enjoys using the open cup, but is still prone to spilling if she gets too excited or distracted. Nevertheless, she is making great strides toward independent eating and drinking this month!
Baby Champuru has developed an affinity for spoons lately. I gave her a disposable plastic baby spoon, a plastic measuring cup, and a plate to play with and she has been pretending to cook. She also uses her stacking cups as bowls to serve us meals. She will stir her pretend soup in the measuring cup, then pour some into a stacking cup and proceed to feed it to her dolls. Or me. Whomever looks hungrier at the time.
During mealtime, she has been asking to hold the spoon. Everyone knows that: toddler + food + spoon = BIG MESS. So I had been previously hesitant to let her control the spoon. Last week, I gave her the spoon as she was eating Cheerios. Her baby doll was sitting next to her on the high chair. Using the spoon, she picked up two Cheerios and proceeded to feed it to the doll. I was surprised by her coordination and took note of this. Perhaps it was time to allow her to try feeding herself?
On Sunday, I finally decided to let her attempt to feed herself. I know it’s good for her development and I can always clean up. I’m always cleaning anyway. What’s the difference, right? With a bowl of yogurt before her, I handed her the spoon and she gleefully shoveled a spoonful of yogurt into her mouth. She stopped and looked at me, as if to gauge my reaction. I gave her a huge smile and burst out enthusiastically, “you did it! Good job! You’re feeding yourself! Mommy is SO proud of you!” She gave me the biggest smile ever. She accomplished something and she knew it. It was a great moment.
Today, I discovered that Baby Champuru has created her own word for spoon and it’s “money.”
I don’t know why or how it came to be, but whenever she wants a spoon, she says “money.” Oddly enough, when I refer to the object as a spoon she knows exactly what I’m talking about. But when she verbalizes it, she says “money.” I keep correcting her, but she refuses to call it by any other name.
Is that weird or what?
Baby Champuru had a long day and was understandably fussy. After all, she didn’t have a good nap all day — having to catch a short 45 minute nap in the car. As the afternoon wore on, she grew even more irritable and temperamental, even for a tired toddler. Hubby suggested that we take her temperature. Sure enough, she was running a slight temperature at 101.4º F.
We gave her a dose of children’s Tylenol and saw her fever decline to 99º F. I am hoping that she wakes up tomorrow without a fever and feeling better.
Today’s Milestone: Baby Champuru’s first time using the potty! Hubby and I were so happy that we praised her and she got so embarrassed that she started crying. Ooops! Hope that doesn’t deter her from wanting to use it again.
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