A big day!

What a big day we had today! Grandparents got tickets for Baby to go to Curious George Live, and don't you know she just loved it. It wasn't bad for Momma and Daddy, either. After a quick nap we took Baby for a birthday party...3rd weekend in a row. Man, fall is a big time for babies! She had a great time at the bounce house and playing with her friends, and now she is just wiped out and already in bed. Momma and Daddy are gonna watch a movie. Thank You for Smoking. It was my pic. We'll see. I tend to choose some pretty bad ones fairly often.

Other news of note. I got stuck with the swine flu vaccine today. "They" say pregnant women die from it for no unexplainable reason. Kinda makes a pregnant woman uneasy. Although I wasn't too keen on getting it, I actually found a place that would vaccinate someone with insurance (not that the insurance paid for it or anything. And on that note...they got it free...why am I paying for it?!). So, I got stuck.

Movie time!

Can't you just suck that in?

Uh, huh. Right. Today I was having a bit of trouble getting into some pants. I'm in no-woman's land in this pregnancy business. Maternity clothes too big, regular clothes too small. So out comes the whole handy rubber band trick. And I was having problems with it so I asked Hubby for assistance. Which. Was. A. Mistake. After little success of his own he says, "Can't you just suck that in a little bit?" Wow. It's not a little extra cake and ice cream around the midsection, people! It's a tiny human growing in there!! So, no. I can't just suck it in. Ah...it's gonna be awhile until I let him forget this one! At least I haven't lost my sense of humor. Still so good to have him home!

Poison Control/I don't like my mommy

I wasn't sure what would be a more interesting title, so I decided to go with both. Since poison control sounds more exciting, I'll write about that first. I was in my room getting ready while Baby watched a little TV (you know me, never one to hide my lazy parenting techniques), when I hear her start screaming and crying. I really must be desensitized by now, because I actually finished brushing my teeth before checking on her. She's been such a drama queen lately, seriously, that I wasn't that concerned. So, I mosey on over to where she is comfortably sitting on the couch with a WHOLE jug of hand sanitizer ALL over her. Hands, face, arms, just swimming in the stuff. So I ask, "Baby, do you have stuff in your mouth?" For some reason I've always called hand sanitizer "stuff" to her. Dunno why. Just do. Anyway, she says, "yeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssss." Of course I didn't know how much and the bottle says to call poison control, so I make a call. Mind you this is not my first call. I probably have written about the others. Anyway, they take my name, my child's name, zip code. I start wondering...if I call enough are they gonna get suspicious? I figure a few calls within nearly 3 years is allowed. Turns out you have to drink several ounces of the stuff for it to really affect ya, so all's well. She probably won't be putting it in her mouth again, tho. Sounds good to me!

Now let's back up to first thing in the morning. Hubby got Baby outta bed and put her in bed with me because, well, I have problems getting out of the bed. I'm just so cozy! So, I'm trying to make Baby cuddle with me, but she wants to go hang out with Daddy. Well, I'm dumb, and I say, "What, you don't like Mommy?" and she says (you guessed it), "I don't like my mommy! I like my Daddy!" Aggg. Dagger. Straight to the heart. I got over it tho. She is such a fair weather gal. Just a few minutes later she announced she didn't like Daddy. Ah, to live in the moment!

One more story. We've recently had some (a lot) of the terrible two behavior. Not a joy. Such a drag. So, I'm trying to figure out a way to raise a decent human being. We're trying something new today and it is SO working! She has a problem with obeying. I mean, I would rather do what I want to do instead of what someone else tells me to. I get it. But I AM THE MOMMY. And she's gotta do what we say. Baby really loves cards...playing cards and such. So I have this stack of Winnie the Pooh number cards. I gave her 5 this morning. When she obeys, she gets another card. When she doesn't, I take a card. I have NEVER seen such motivation! She loves her cards. I've taken a few away today, and she immediately starts saying (screaming) she wants to obey so she can earn it back. I hope this sticks! She has 9 cards right now. Not bad!

Trapped on the elevator

Poor Baby! Today we went to church for Mops, and Baby had a solo ride on the elevator! It has a happy ending, but it was a little scary for both of us for awhile. As we were getting on the elevator together, someone offered to take some boxes I was carrying. As I turned to give them to my friend, Baby got on the elevator and I didn't...and the doors closed! At first I thought it was no big deal...I thought we would just push the button and the doors would open. That happens all the time, ya know? The elevator is full, the doors close, and someone pushes the call button before it leaves and the doors open again. Annoying. But nope, not this time! I could hear her and realized she hadn't pushed any buttons (which is unusual...that is a favorite of hers; she's even pushed the alarm button). Poor little girl...just crying and crying. And no matter how many buttons we pushed, the OTHER two elevators kept arriving. Finally someone must have called an elevator to the first floor because I couldn't hear her anymore. A quick run to the next level, and a nice lady was holding her. Whew! After some special cuddles we were both OK.

She told her teachers that she was crying on the "alligator". And later when I asked her what happened when the doors opened, she said, "The other mommy was holding me." Sweet. I'm glad the "other" mommy was there to greet her.

It smells like hot dogs

So, Baby continues to just grow and grow, as children have a tendency to do. It is so fun to see all the new developments! Recently she has started expressing smells. We walked inside the house this evening, and the first thing Baby said was, "It smells like hot dogs." Which I sorta thought was hilarious. How odd! But then, upon engaging my own nose, I had to agree. It DID smell like hot dogs! We have a wood burning fire place, and with all the rain, the smell sorta seeps into the house (even when we aren't using it). And, well, I had to admit, I could get a hot dog smell outta it.

Other big fun news...we're expecting Baby #2 in May! Quick work, huh? I know you are all counting on fingers...and the math works out, but it was (nearly) shockingly quick. Needless to say, we are both (all) excited. We've even gotten to hear the heart beat twice! So, since I've pretty much gotten on the couch at about 5 every night, I've not had a lot of extra time for writing. I'm hoping to get some energy soon. "They" say that within the next few weeks I'm supposed to feel better. Let's hope so!

We'd hate to get used to any sorta status quo around here, ya know? Hubby's gone for a year, let's spend the next year anticipating a baby, right? Who needs time to settle into a new routine?! I hear that having 2 kids is a whole lot more than 1, which makes me a little nervous, but hey, people do it all the time. That whole "The Iraq" experience kinda gave me some

(false?) sense of invincibility, so bring on a new challenge! We can take it. Besides, it will be tons of fun.

Mmm...I'm kinda wondering what "name" we'll give the new baby. I mean, "Baby" is Baby. Baby 2? Mmmm...I guess we could change "Baby" to "Little Girl", but that doesn't sound quite right. Actually, we currently refer to Baby as "That One" and the new one as "This One." But that is sorta confusing, too. Stay tuned.