Don't drink the water

Fencer in training

2012-02-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Daddy is so proud

Book reviews

2012-02-03T19:36:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I can't believe I'm typing it either. I'm a SAHM of a 2yo and I have time to read. I have no idea how this happened.

I got a LOT of books for Christmas, and I've been plowing through them as quickly as I can before I lose this time I've gotten all of a sudden. First up:

(All images pulled off of amazon.com, BTW)

I've read every one of Janet Evanovich's numbered novels (and a few off-tangent books as well). No. 17 ended with a cliffhanger of sorts, so it was fun to see how she was going to get herself out of her latest mess. As usual, I read this in a day.

Next up:

Awful, awful, awful (sorry Mom). I guess if you're a PD James fan and have never read Jane Austen, you might like (or even love) it. Dame James tried to write in Jane's style, but it just doesn't translate well in a modern author's hands.

In the middle of all that, an oldie but a goodie:

I'm pretty sure this is out of print, but you can get a copy off of Amazon for $5. GREAT book. I read it a couple of decades ago, and had forgotten all the fun one person can have in a book. I hated to see it end. This really should be made into a movie (are you reading, Paul?). Colin Firth would make a great lead I think ;)

After that I got into:

I loved this book for so many reasons. It explores the issues surrounding the first immortal cell line. And if you've worked in a biology lab since about 1955, you've probably worked with HeLa cells. I've handled a few million in my day. Ms Lacks also died at Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore, and I met one of the scientists the author talked to. I knew all the places in the Baltimore area that the author went to do some of her research. And the woman's story, and that of her family, were so compelling, it was almost impossible to put this book down. At time depressingly tragic, it really turned into a labor of love.

After that, I wanted to get to something a bit more...frivolous:

I can't tell you how many times I've read this. And I'm getting sucked into the story. Again.

I have no idea what I'll read next. Maybe that cookbook/memoir that I just got. Maybe something on the living room shelf. I'll let you know ;)

Pandas and Pinterest

2012-01-28T19:40:00.000-08:00

A long time ago, I posted about my reason for liking pandas so much. S's room is slowly starting to fill with them, though we're trying to keep it somewhat contained.

As Valentine's Day approaches, I found these absolutely perfect cards to send to family:

Awesome

And as I've browsed Pinterest, I've found some cute crafts that involve kids. I decided to try this one. Then I started thinking, maybe I can combine the 2.

So now some special people in S's life are going to get this for VDay:

Well, once I find some ribbon. Which shouldn't be hard

And since I haven't posted a picture of the little darling lately, some rare moments of (almost) stillness:

Striking a familiar pose while catching some Curious George (I hate that show BTW)

"Coloring" with a ballpoint pen. Good times.

Yay for Pinterest

2012-01-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

I'm making turkey stock today, and I'm irrationally excited about it. Maybe because this means I'm actually doing something I found on Pinterest.

For those of you not familiar, let my friend Amy explain it to you. In brief, it's an organized place to keep all those things you're interested in making, cooking, looking at, quotes to remember, what have you, all tied up a neat little bow. Problem is, sometimes you spend all ~~day~~ night pinning, and don't actually make/do any of those things you just pinned.

I'm trying to buck that trend. So I made turkey tenderloin using a recipe from Pinterest, and now I've wandered into the realm of "exotic" squash preparation (yeah, butternut and spaghetti squash are a novelty around here, sad to say) thanks to helpful pins.

We decided to do something with all that dark meat from our Christmas turkey that everyone hates, and I didn't want to repeat the turkey stew debacle of last year. Finding a turkey vertebra in your stew is NOT fun (hey, I tried to pick through it). There's a guarantee I won't repeat that with a stock recipe.

So for now a giant Dutch oven is bubbling away on my stove.

Here's the recipe from my Pinterest board. And I'm MitzkiK if you want to follow me ;)

Well, that took about 5 minutes

2012-01-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

Not long after J sold his house in MD, we started getting notices from random strangers that he was owed money by the government. All of them had the wrong initial for J, so we tended to ingore them. After 4-5 years, however, we were still getting notices. And various people were offering to get the $ back for us, minus a "finder's fee".

We finally decided to call one of them, and explain they were looking for another J, with a different middle initial. Oh no, the paperwork was wrong, and the person started spouting off the property address (correct), settlement date (correct), etc. We again ignored them because we didn't want to pay a finder's fee, and we figured this couldn't be that hard. But stuff always got in the way.

Just last week, after our move to MA, we got yet another notice. So I decided to do some sleuthing.

I googled "find government money" and found his name and MD address on the HUD website. Complete with a "don't let a stranger find your $ for you, just call us!" message. So I called. None of the info I have works with their automated system--homeowners, remember how many forms you signed??? And of course no one is at HUD on a snowy Saturday afternoon.

So Monday my plan is to call and wait on hold as long as it takes to talk to a real person. This isn't enough money to make us millionaires by any stretch of the imagination, but it would allow J to buy a few more SCA toys without breaking the bank. I joked to him that I should get the finder's fee ;)

There will be pictures...soon

2012-01-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

We've had contractors at our house this week with a laundry list of things to do. We had a broken window in the basement, and they replaced it with one that makes me irrationally giddy. They're putting a railing up next to the steps to our deck. Very handy when the ~~old~~ more mature members of our family come to visit. But the biggest project is a doorway in our in-law suite. Before they came, it was open to our master bedroom. No big deal most days, but a little strange when guests were here. No one felt like they had quite the privacy they wanted.

I love the way it's turning out. J says it will look like it's always been there. It's giving us some nice little patches of wall space to put up some pictures/art. Guests will be able to come and go as they please, and we never have to know they're here (likewise they won't have to hear if one of us snores in the middle of the night).

And that means I have to come up with yet another paint color. I wanted to replace the blue in there anyway...

Christmas continues

2012-01-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

The mailman brought 2 big packages in a giant plastic bag yesterday. Pouring rain and wind gusts will do that to a guy. When I dug them out, it looked like Christmas gifts from S's birthmom and birthgrandma. And I was right! After she got up from her nap, she opened up her latest version of Christmas

"Hmmm, wonder what's in here? For ME!"

2 Beauty and the Beast books, and a Belle dress (that's Mommy's Pride and Prejudice DVD). S immediately tried to take off her shirt

Checking out her dress and book

Reading like a princess

Afterward she took off Mommy's headband (hence the crazy hair) and insisted I wear her New Year's Hat

Dancing in her dress

Back in the saddle

2012-01-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

Years and years ago, before I got married, I was a yoga junkie. I went 2-3 times per week, like clockwork, and was known on sight by my instructor and half of my classmates. The YMCA I went to was maybe 10 minutes from my house, class times were doable, and it was divine.

Then I moved to a little town, with a long commute to work, and no one seemed to have good times for yoga classes. I would occasionally pull out my mat and block and do something at home, but it was never anything consistent. I missed it. And so did my posture.

Now that we're in MA, we're 5 minutes from the biggest YMCA I've ever seen. There's a huge basketball court, and above it a walking/running track. Dedicated rooms for spin classes, aerotics, yoga, you name it. A karate dojo. An Olympic sized pool. An auditorium. Drop-in childcare. Full-time childcare. Heck, they have a reading nook. It just goes on and on.

J's work gives a workout discount, and we liked what we saw at the Y. We signed up last week, and S had her first swim class there on Thursday. J and I sat down and figured out a workout schedule, and it looks like my Tuesdays are now free for yoga. I went to my first class tonight. It was divine. I didn't push myself too hard, but I got a good workout, and I really enjoyed it. I'm secretly waiting for all the New Year's Resolution people to drop off so I have more room for my mat, but it was great to see a crowd.

I can't wait until next Tuesday :)

Newport!

2011-12-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day today, so we decided a trip to Newport was a great way to spend the day. And hey, I brought my camera!

We took a train ride out of Newport up north to see the sights

Maw and Grania were so excited!

The train was very festive

S had a blast

We saw lots of beautiful scenery

S played on our laps

The USS Saratoga, slowly being dismantled

The bridge into Newport

S enjoyed a snack on the ride back

We all posed for the camera after our ride

We went to the waterfront Marriott, where we saw a giant gingerbread house and lighthouse

There was also a giant tree

And giant ornaments

I took a random picture of a random historical building in downtown Newport

We drove on Ocean Avenue, and J let me stop to take pictures

The sun was setting

Pretty, no?

S enjoyed it...

When we got home, she opened yet another present, this one a blanket that Maw knitted for her. She loved it

More Christmas pictures

2011-12-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

On the 26th, we had a few more presents to open

S got more tracks to her Ikea train set

She got a set of stackable blocks that kept her entertained for hours

She took a quick rest on her chair from last Christmas

Grania and Maw came, with a giant truck full of Christmas presents. So the gift-giving continued!

Lovely, lovely PJs

Showing off her new skirt and cowgirl boots

The morning of the 27th, there was still more. This is what happens when Grania has a grandchild. A grandchild.

This was actually Mommy's present ;)

It makes a good pillow

Daddy put together a nifty shopping basket

...and got some DVDs. Mommy won't see him again for a very long time ;)

S and the finished product, toting her baby doll

It was a good day

Christmas, Part 2

2011-12-25T19:45:00.000-08:00

S got up nice and early (8am is early for her, yay), so we settled in for our next round of gifts:

S enjoyed her band in a box. Especially the triangle

Mommy posed with gifts from Uncle Jeeter

He has such a sense of humor!

S enjoyed the day

Her very best surprised face

A rare still moment

5 minutes of snow

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T18:58:00.000-08:00

Gift giving has started in earnest around here. My family always opens gifts on Christmas Eve. J's family always opens gifts on Christmas Day. And Grania and Maw are coming on Boxing Day. So we decided to spread the gifts over several days, starting tonight. Here's a run-up to the fun:

Checking out the tree and presents

This is totally going on her thank you cards this year

Posing with her skinny daddy :)

What's on your shirt, S?

Showing off her dress

Ready for church!

Delighted with her new cell phone

Nothing says Christmas like a box from a pulmonary pharmacy

Lemme at it!

More presents, please!

Aunt Trina and Uncle Paul got her a tool box. She would NOT put it down

It's beginning to look a little like Christmas

2011-12-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

Waaaaaaaaaay back when we moved into our house in PA, Christmas was very low-key. We were flying across the country to see my parents, and the garage was still full of unpacked boxes. We couldn't even see the floor in the room where the tree would normally go, so we didn't put one up.

This year was threatening to be the same way. We traveled for Thanksgiving, then hosted my parents. We still have 2 rooms (and a chunk of the basement) unpacked. The big difference? We have an almost-2-year-old, and she's starting to "get" Christmas. Tree it is!

We did the lights today while S was napping, and plan to piecemeal the decorations as the week goes on. Kind of like they used to put the tree up late in the season, back in the old days ;)

I've also been decorating here and there with what I could find from the myriad Christmas boxes in the basement:

Yeah, it looks a little cluttered. But hey, it's our first mantel in forever, and there isn't a lot of horizontal space available in other rooms at the moment (I'm working on the dining room, mom)

S is getting in the holiday spirit

She looks like my little punk rocker

She's also getting ready for the colder weather

My Advent scarf is coming along nicely, despite some dropped stitches and foul language (sorry Mom)

I'm also working on a VERY late Secret Santa scarf; I just haven't taken a picture yet.

S got in on the action by taking a picture of my scarf picture. You can't keep a camera away from that kid these days

I finally found some time in my day to make mini gingerbread loaves. The mailman and a few choice friends are going to be mighty happy :)

Currently I have eggnog pound cake baking for a couple of holiday parties that my moms groups are having tomorrow. Can you believe that the 2 groups I attend are having a holiday party on the same day at the same time??? We'll be traveling for sure tomorrow.

J went to the Filene's Basement GOOB sale and bought a pair of shoes or 2 for S:

He got them in sizes 5 and 6, so we're good for months. Though we'll still take those boots that Santa Grania got S :)

I just finished the last of the Christmas cards. Well, one is outstanding, but I know where the address is and it will be in the mail shortly. I mailed the last of the Christmas presents yesterday. S and I went to the children't Mass and Christmas pageant tonight, and she wasn't the worst behaved kid in the cry room. I had a nice glass of wine with dinner tonight. Life is good.

Catching up

2011-12-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy, chaotic couple of weeks. I had a birthday and spent the whole day getting pampered. Then back to reality as we prepared to drive to PA to see J's family for Thanksgiving. We spent a couple of days with his mom checking out her new house addition and visiting with Uncle Bruce and Aunt Annie. We met up with S's birthmom, then headed home to prepare for a visit from my parents.

In between all that I decided to knit something for a Secret Santa gift, my second annual Advent scarf started up, and we were still trying to organize a couple of rooms in the house.

So, it's been busy. Here are are last couple of weeks in pictures:

Matching faces

Her funky curl, the result of falling asleep with damp hair

Day 1 of my Advent scarf

S wondering who the guy in red is

"Listening" to Mrs Claus read The Night Before Christmas

My dad laughing hysterically at the word S managed to spell on the fridge

First 2 days of the Advent scarf

Busy busy busy

2011-11-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

My toddler is napping and I should be doing one of a gazillion things on my to-do list. But here I am blogging.

We've been busy, as usual. I had a quick freelance project this weekend, so I spent a lot of free time getting that done. And painting the dining room (still). I got enough walls finished that I could unpack a giant box and put stuff into one of the curio cabinets. Now I have the longest wall of all to finish, and I can unpack some more and get the other cabinet filled. Maybe someday we'll see the top of the dining room table. Here's a before and after of the paint colors. It takes 3 coats to cover the white part.

J has the in-law suite almost completely organized before my parents come in a few weeks. That's been a long process, but we think it looks pretty nice. And cozy. And no, I don't mean so-tight-you-can't-move-around kind of cozy.

S has been doing her usual thing. Lots of talking, lots of running around. We met a new friend at a playgroup, so we had a playdate at Whole Foods this week. We went shopping for furniture and she hung out in her stroller while we checked out 2 giant floors of stuff (including a 90" TV--seriously, what's the point?). We went used car shopping and she got to "drive" a '57 Thunderbird. Mommy bought her a learning tower off of craigslist this weekend, so she's been spending a lot of time playing in the sink. And playing--lots of playing. Usually after she plays in the sink (hence the wet tshirt).

We are very much looking forward to our Thanksgiving week :)

Here's the other bathroom

2011-11-06T12:20:00.000-08:00

Our upstairs bathroom wasn't...awful, it just wasn't very inspired/inspiring. The same dirty blue that seems to be everywhere in this house (unless it's lemon yellow, of course), and it looked like drunken monkeys painted the place.

So I cut in, and rolled, and cut in some more, and rolled some more, and then I was done

Much better, no?

Yeah, I think her language is just fine

2011-11-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

After our disastrous doctor appointment back in September, I've been keeping closer track than normal on S's language development. I almost wish I could take S back to that whackadoodle and see what she would think now. So far she can say:

uh-oh
up
hi
bye
Mommy
Daddy
Hobbes
please
thank you (that was new today)
Ah ah ah (her name for Count von Count, because that's what he says)
Nine Nine Nine (mimicking Herman Cain)
No (usually said with emphasis)
Yes
Eat
Mmmmm (what we do when we eat)
She sometimes says two after I say one.

If you ask what a bear says, she says "roaaaar". If you ask what a sheep says, she says "Ba", very decisively.

She's mimicking big time. She'll wipe the table, "blow her nose" (thanks to Grania for teaching her that one), put silverware away (even when it's dirty, sigh), and many other things I can't keep track of most days. She LOVES to wear our shoes.

And just for fun, here's a picture. She looks like she's going fly fishing.

So, so tired

2011-11-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

...and sore.

I don't remember painting taking this much out of me before. J took care of S all day and I did nothing but paint, paint, paint. Ugh. I love painting, but I could not do this for a living.

I got 2 bathrooms painted today, and started the dining room. I only have pictures of one bathroom so far, because I finished the second one after S went to bed. It's not ready for prime time just yet. But tomorrow...

So I give to you, the lemon yellow nightmare that was our guest bathroom:

And after, with a couple of coats of Sherwin-Williams Dutch Tile Blue

Now THAT'S a bathroom I can calmly pee in ;)

20

2011-11-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

S turned 20 months old today. And I haven't taken a single picture. Mostly because she hasn't stopped moving long enough for me to grab a camera...

Happy National Adoption Awareness Month!

2011-11-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try and find a way to link ideas for the month on the right side of the blog, mostly so my mom doesn't have to miss out on pictures of S, but for now you get it in a post.

Today's entry is: Start an adoption blog

Well, this blog is about a lot of things (though mostly about S), and there is adoption talk here, so we'll go with that. Hurray!

What we've been up to lately

2011-10-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

Reading our books. All of them.

Learning a new word

Trying on Daddy's shoes

Checking out our first snow in Boston

Wearing Mommy's shoes

Decorating for Halloween

Trying out a new toy

Visiting with friends old and new

About that last picture. Mommy's friends from way back when she lived in Baltimore came to visit. They live in England. Mommy hasn't seen the grownups in a long time, and she'd never met their two delightful boys. We had a lovely day of playing outside, eating wicked good Chinese take-out, and catching up. Daddy showed off his armor and played. I took a short nap, but there was too much going on to stay in my room for long.

Tomorrow we're going out in the second snow of the season :)

Fancy picture time

2011-10-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

My friend over at Trina Bird Photography took shots of us this year. Here's what she got. Good, no? (Oh, and you can see more at her website)

Striking a familiar pose

If you can't beat 'em...

The happy family

She loves her Daddy

I think this is our 6th anniversary shot!

On the beach

Love this one :)

Hanging around

Love those eyes

Random pictures of the kid

2011-10-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Because it's been a while

With her headband (how did she ever find it?) and her Elmo slippers (she loooooves them)

Playing peekaboo at the kitchen door

On her trike in the driveway. She can really motor!

"listening to some tunes"

With Daddy at the pumpkin patch

With her very own pumpkin

Strolling around the pumpkin patch

Ready for Halloween!

Typical morning

Trying out her new winter boots

Found a new doctor we like

2011-10-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Round 2 of the Great Doctor Search. This one went much better.

S had an 11:30 appointment, and we got there a bit early to fill out paperwork. We had to wait, but definitely not an hour, and everyone in the waiting room thought S was the best.toddler.ever. I got another "She looks just like you" comment.

We like the doctor. She went over all of S's records with me, discussed where she is on growth charts (50% across the board), reassured me that her language was just fine, was impressed with her motor skills (as usual), and gave her 3(!) shots to get her up to date. S is good until March.

Bonus, the doctor is in family practice, so she can see all of us if we so desire :)

Finally turning a corner

2011-10-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough couple of weeks. The movers came 2 Tuesdays ago and unloaded all the stuff that had been in storage in PA since July. While we have a house with similar square footage to the last, and a bigger basement, we are lacking a garage. So things had to go wherever there was space. The result? The house looks like a moving van exploded inside it.

Then last Monday started the Big Push to get all the stuff out of our apartment before our September 30 vacate date. Monday we paid movers to get the big stuff out. The rest of the week was shuttling back and forth, either together or separately, to bring all the little stuff that's so annoying at the tail end of a move. It was the most disorganized thing we've ever done. And let me tell you, doing this with a toddler in tow is no picnic. I have vowed not to move again until she's old enough to help.

To add to the excitement, J's work is heating up, so he's spent the bulk of the weekend on site trying to get things done in time for the next phase of his project. He's trying to juggle paying some semblance of attention to his family, get a ton of work done, and find anything in this house. And he feels bad, because he wants to unpack too, but there are only 24 hours in a day.

I think he and I have been cycling through the same 3 outfits all this time, because it's all we can reliably find. S has an appointment with a new doctor tomorrow, and I (of course) couldn't find her shot record. Even though I know there are 2 copies somewhere in this house. (And to follow on an earlier post, her crappy dr we saw last time still hasn't sent her records over to the new joint--which is just down the street).

But this morning, all fell into place. Instead of feeling like I was just moving boxes from room to room, I actually unpacked some things of importance. I found her shot record. I found the charger to J's razor (quickly becoming a necessity). I found the can opener! I was able to move some less important boxes out of the kitchen.

This place may look decent after all...

Happy anniversary!

2011-10-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. Time to say happy anniversary to my wonderful husband. I know we've had a stressful go of it of late, what with the multi-part move and all, but someday we'll look back on this and laugh. Maybe ;)

Just for fun, here's a blast from the past...

Our first anniversary, on the lawn of the Sheraton Columbia

Our second anniversary, after many glasses of wine

3rd anniversary: did we even go anywhere?

4th anniversary in the Finger Lakes of NY

5th anniversary, before I cooked up a mean filet mignon

Rest assured tonight's photo will be with a pile of boxes in the background after eating takeout. Good times.

I.am.exhausted

2011-09-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

The movers brought all our stuff that's been in storage since July. They were due to arrive around 9, so I knew I had to get S up early, which meant me getting up even earlier. We spent the entire day until 5:30pm "supervising" the 3 guys who kept asking "where does this go?" and hearing me say, once again, "um, the basement".

The kitchen looks like a moving van exploded. And of course, no new house is just like the old one, so we have a lot of orphan boxes for the time being. But at least a few rooms are coming together.

S is holding up like a champ. She *hates* to nap at the new house, because she doesn't want to miss out on anything. And she only naps for half her normal time. But she has a wonderful time while she's up. She'll head out and check on the moving truck, or accompany me to the mailbox, or wander the rooms checking out what's new since she was there last. And finally, after a few days, she doesn't cry hysterically when we put her in her bedroom. I think more and more familiar things are showing up there, so she knows it belongs to her.

More pictures once I have some time to take any.

Random toddler pictures, and house teaser pictures

2011-09-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

In her new panda pajamas. Love the feet!

S, desperate to go outside, in Daddy's Under Armor skullcap. She HAD to wear it the whole time she was outside.

Loving her Snoopy sweatshirt and red sneakers

Snacking in the new kitchen. We make do with camp chairs and a camp table. That brown stuff is the wallpaper border that must.go...

Before shot of the dining room. We still can't agree on a new paint color

I have no idea who thought lemon yellow was a good color for a hallway. It's all the way up the stairs, and upstairs.

S's bedroom, before

S's bedroom, after

S's playroom, before (after pictures to come)

Parent of the Year award goes to us...

Well, look at that

2011-09-14T11:23:00.001-07:00

JHFCU commented on my rant.

I find it hysterical that a fourth person wants me to e-mail my information to them.

Thanks Lynn for your response.

An open letter to Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union

2011-09-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

You and I are done.

You've served me well over the last 15 years. I used you the whole time I lived in Baltimore. You helped me find a good deal on a car. I was able to direct deposit into my account, even when I moved to PA. But now we're done.

It all started with accessing my online account. I thought I knew my password, but I was wrong. Unlike any other financial institution I deal with, you won't give me a new one after I answer security questions, or call to verify personal information. No, I need to have you mail it to me. But see, that's a problem. Because I just moved to this apartment. So I'm in a Catch .22--I can't access my account without a change of address, and I can't change my address without accessing my account. Or so your rep tells me on the phone.

So I have a change of address mailed to me (God forbid you can e-mail it). Send it in. Wait 8 weeks. Nothing.

When I called last week, oops, that tiny font at the bottom said I needed to send a copy of my driver's license. But it has to be mailed. Or faxed. Oh wait, no it doesn't. I can scan and e-mail. Fabulous. I do so, and I wait.

I call a few days later. Nope, no one has seen the e-mail. But the helpful woman (first time that happened) said I can send it directly to her, and she'll call when it gets there. I do so, and hear nothing.

I call the next day. The no-so-helpful woman says I can't e-mail it. I tell her that 2 people have said I could. She said her supervisor says no. I get the supervisor on the phone. She promises to talk to the Assistant Branch Manager and she'll call me back. Calls back and decides yes, I can e-mail it. So I sent it to a THIRD person!!!

At this point I give up, print out a new form (because now they can e-mail it to me, when before it had to be mailed) with yet another new address (since we're moving on Thursday) and a photocopy of my ID.

Today I get a call from someone at JHFCU. "We just need you to e-mail me a copy of your driver's license."

Are you freaking kidding me????????

I told whomever was on the phone that he can just rip up that change of address, I'm sending a new one, and they had better get their act together. Because J and I have decided they do their banking the abacus way with how this has been handled.

Oh, apparently I can close my account without going to a branch. Or so they tell me today. God knows what their answer will be next week.

Rounding out a lovely weekend

2011-09-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

It was a gorgeous Sunday here, and we wanted to spend some time together as a family. So we went to the tot lot in the swanky neighborhood near our apartment. Oh, the differences between that one and the one behind our apartment building.

Digresion:

I've had a love/hate relationship with our apartment complex since we moved in. On the plus side, there's a pool across the parking lot, and a playground behind our place. It's amazingly close to J's work, and conveniently located for S and I to get out and do our thing. On the minus side, it's just so...temporary. And the electrical is wacky. Where else could the dishwasher run off of a light switch? And the playground? Well, a lot of parents let their chidren run wild back there, and they like to run over S, or yank her arm while she's on a platform 6 feet off the ground. Good times.

Digression over

At the swanky tot lot, parents have to stay with their kids (it's near a fairly major road). And it's huge, with lot of different things to play on. Some of them are specifically designed for the really little ones. I let J spend some quality time with his daughter, and I sat on a bench and took pictures.

Making a beeline for something interesting

Checking out the tubes. She didn't like these, because they wobble when she crawls through them. This girl is all about stability.

With Daddy on the Jeep with 4(!) steering wheels

Checking out the alphabet and the pipes

S cried when we left :(

But we "rewarded" her with visits to 3 open houses. The first was a home built (and last decorated) in 1950. It's basically a tear-down. For half a million dollars. Then we saw a million-dollar house that was gorgeous and worth the money (if we had anything close to that ;) And a Victorian we've driven by dozens of times. For an old house it had a ton of storage and high ceilings. Along with a high price tag. But it was fun to look at!

Between today and our afternoon at Boston Common yesterday, it was a good weekend :)

Let me 'splain

2011-09-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

Why are S and J looking up when the squirrel is right there? And where the heck are they anyway???

Today I told J I wanted to go into Boston and visit Boston Common. You know, just walk around on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and see what there was to see. I knew it would be a quick trip since we were going after S's nap, and she's a great sleeper.

After said nap, a late lunch, and a change of clothes, we loaded up and headed north. Found a decent parking lot and headed into the Common. Oh, the things to see. There were dogs galore for S to squeal at, and a giant (and crowded) playground. We found the Frog Pond, and--a merry go round! I played photographer while J took S on her first ride:

She loved it. She spent most of the ride deep in concentration, likely taking it all in. But it didn't scare her in the least (no surprise there) and she seemed to want to go again.

Instead, she saw squirrels. Lots, and lots, of squirrels.

This is her "OMG there's a squirrel, and if I run and scream I can get it!" look.

She would run over to them as they scurried up a tree. Then she'd "chase" them around said tree while they climbed higher and higher. Daddy had to help her

Needless to say, it didn't always work out. As the picture at the top of this post attests. But man, they had a great time.

18 month doctor appointment!

2011-09-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

S had her 18 month checkup at her new pediatrician's office today.

She weighed in at 22 lb 12 oz. Up almost 3 pounds from her last appointment
She's now 31.5" tall, up 1/4 inch since her last appoinment

Disclaimer: The scale/measuring thingy looked like it was acquired at a yard sale in 1947, so I'm not sure how accurate those numbers were.

They took her head circumference, but I don't recall the number.

Everything else surrounding the appointment was a disaster. We arrived at 1:50pm for a 2pm appointment, and were seen at 2:45. Yep, that's right. We waited almost an hour while patient after patient arrived and was called in. This on top of S already missing out on her nap. When the doctor arrived, she was all over the place. She never had a thought continue uninterrupted for more than a few seconds. She stated several times that she typically went over growth charts, yet she simply flashed up the height chart and never addressed where S fell in it. She was obsessed with the fact that S wasn't talking, and is insisting on another appointment in 3 months. This despite the fact that S can say "uh-oh" and is on the verge of at least a couple other words. She also has to see her in 3 months because the office staff improperly recorded her vaccinations, so no one had any idea what she was supposed to get this time.

Oh, and as we were leaving, the doctor also said we'd discuss potty training in 3 months. Potty training. I said I was planning to wing it and see how she's doing if/when we send S to Montessori (in a YEAR). She said, "We'll discuss Montessori once we get the language stuff figured out." Ugh.

I tried to make a follow-up appointment, but the office doesn't schedule out more than 2 months in advance.

*sigh*

So I was left feeling tired, angry, and extremely disappointed. Now we have to start the doctor search. Again.

S passed out in the back seat on the way home (at 3:45), and slept for a while when we got back to the apartment. Let's hope this doesn't mess up her sleep schedule tonight.

Let's add some more pictures, shall we?

2011-09-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

S is all about accessorizing these days. It started with the insistence on carrying a bag, any bag, every time she went outside. It has exploded from there:

With every.single.grocery bag from Whole Foods. This entertained her for an entire afternoon.

Of course we have to add jewelry to the ensemble. This time it's her baby Rosary.

And it wouldn't be complete without a hair clip. I'm pretty sure she begged me to take it out of my hair to put it in hers.

Carrying not one, but 2, "purses" outside. The one on the left is from Grania. The one on the right is a bin that holds her blocks.

So very proud of herself

Ready for the links

She saw a dog on TV and had to get Gus

Mommy added Bernie to the mix

24 pounds! I just love this shot.

Her new sweater! I might have actually made the neck opening big enough this time. Action shot to come...

Crafty (and toddler) update

2011-09-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

I got some yarn in a colorway named after S, and I made her a skirted diaper cover with it

Don't you love it? It looks like the ocean.

S liked it too.

Since I finished this I had some freelance work that kept me away from my needles, but things are settling down again. I just finished a sweater for S that should be ready to show off in a couple of days.

And some friends of J's just had a baby girl. I found some yarn and an adorable hat pattern for her, so I'm getting busy on that. Pictures when it's all done :)

Just in case you were wondering...

2011-08-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

...we survived ~~Hurricane~~ Tropical Storm Irene just fine.

It was wet and windy here yesterday, but that was about it. We lost power for a whopping 20 minutes. So now we have to find a way to eat all that nonperishable food we bought. Canned chicken recipes, anyone?

MA seems to have weathered things pretty well all things considered. I'm hearing of some nastiness in Vermont. We hope for a speedy recovery for those who got some damage.

Oh, and I talked to my friend Irene last night. She said all those people throwing her name around for a week made it feel like her birthday.

I'm such a sports geek

2011-08-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

As soon as the NFL lockout ended, I started (impatiently) waiting for my football pool notification to come.

I've been part of the same football pool since 1995, when I spent a month in Milwaukee doing research at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Back then it was sent as an e-mail with a lame attempt at an Excel spreadsheet, and the pool owner would hand-calculate the winner each week. My, how times have changed. Now it's on a hosted website with all kinds of bells and whistles.

I just got my activation e-mail today. I can't wait for the season to start.

Go Cowboys!

Trying to be a photographer--ha!

2011-08-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

Our apartment building has these beautiful flowers in front of the leasing office. I had this dream in mind of putting S in a summer dress, plopping her down among the flowers, and taking perfect shots of her.

Then reality set in. We were traveling, or it was too hot, or raining, or why would I stick my kid in a dress?

Yesterday she wanted to go for a walk, and she was in a bright summer ensemble, so I figured I'd at least give it a shot.

On her way over to the leasing office. With her new purse. They're her latest obsession, and her grandmothers are indulging her every chance they get

I call this the Urban Shot

Contemplating her next move

The Riot of Color

Actually posing for me. Note the perfect purse placement

These are the flowers. Pretty, no?

Detour to check out the putting green

I just found this funny

My attempt at the garden shot. Gotta work on the shoe placement, and those shorts are too big. I saw a lot of diaper in my pictures before I cropped them

I bought yarn

2011-08-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

While at Pennsic, I bought yarn. And I'm so excited to play with it.

I bought some cashmere. And just found a pattern from Japan for cable mittens. I can't wait.

I bought quite the batch of linen yarn. What the heck am I going to do with it? Make a market bag, of course. If my vegan sister in law is my Secret Santa pick this year, she may get it :)

And there's some alpaca, and plain old wool, all hand-dyed. I talked to the lady who dyed them, and now I want to try it too. We got really geeky about how one ingredient can change the color from a warm auburn to a dark gray. Be prepared for me to discuss my adventures dying with turmeric (yikes!).

So expect to see some new creations in the coming months. Some of the yarn is coming via mail from my mother in law (J left them with her for now, which is fine considering the state of this apartment). I can't wait to get my hands on it again.

Enjoying being homebound

2011-08-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

The week has started off cold, and wet, and rainy. Which is just fine by me. We need rain. And I need a reason to stay in the apartment after running ourselves ragged for the last 4 months. Just hanging out, finding things to occupy our afternoons, and taking pictures.

S watching ESPN and carrying her purse. Don't you love the Ralph Lauren polo dress? It's my new favorite outfit (sorry to the grandmothers)

S's latest thing. She found Aunt Irene's blanket in the living room and scrambled up on the sofa with it. She loves to snuggle at least once a day under her blankie

A rare self-portrait wtih my little girl. Yeah, it's blurry. Sue me.

S watching Sesame Street. Yes, I let her watch 20 minutes when I remember it's on. Sue me. Again.

S is starting to figure out that your legs go into pants, how shoes go on her feet, and that your foot goes into the open part of the sock. I helped her put mine on just for fun. She's much better at taking them off.

Drawing with crayons. We spent probably 45 minutes doing this yesterday afternoon. So much fun.

Now that we've caught our breath we can get back into the swing of things. I have some freelance work coming in, which fills the quiet times. And I've picked up my knitting needles again. Wait until you see what I'm making. J is easing nicely back into work and we're looking forward to enjoying MA for a while.

War photos

2011-08-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the end of another Pennsic War. J went out early the middle of last week, and S and I followed on Monday. S got 3 full days on site, meeting new people and charming them all. She loved it.

In her apron dress wandering around during lunch

Modeling her new princess dress that Grania bought her. An action shot, of course

Ready to go in her cool red wagon. Best $ we've ever spent for Pennsic. It was a sweet ride

Ready to go to Midnight Madness in our matching outfits

A view from the castle

Mid-battle

Another view, this one from our tent during a lovely summer afternoon

What 3 days at Pennsic does to a toddler

Home from War!

2011-08-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

Pennsic XL is in the books. J got some great fighting in, S got to play dress-up, Grania got some time with her granddaughter, and I survived a solo RT flight from Boston to Pittsburgh with a toddler.

Pictures to come. I promise.

So, we've been busy

2011-07-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

No pictures for now. There just hasn't been time.

Last Friday night J headed down to the house in PA to pick up all the things he didn't want the movers to takem and to disassemble some of the larger items so the movers wouldn't have to. It took him longer than expected, and he didn't head back north until Sunday. At which point S and I had almost finished *our* trek back to the house in PA. We did manage a quick meeting in beautiful Milford, PA before we went our separate ways. Again :(

S and I spent the week supervising the movers who took over our house and worked their magic. 4 guys made (relatively) quick work of the place. They started around 9:30 Monday morning and had the last things in their truck at 2:30 this afternoon. This included a ginormous weight set, a treadmill, a pool table (anyone in south Boston want a pool table?), and more hand weights than I could carry.

Did I mention in the middle of all this that I had not one, but 2 freelance assignments to work on?

Thank goodness for a flexible kid. She napped through people disassembling furniture in the next room. Twice. She managed to eat lunch while strange men wandered in and out of her kitchen. She picked up the mop and dustpan more than once in an effort to help clean. At the moment she's sleeping peacefully in a hotel room while I bang out this entry. I think it helped that her Grania came to visit and spent some quality time with her.

Tomorrow morning we're heading back over one last time to see if I can fit whatever's left into the car--wish me luck. There is that priority mail box that I may throw some ~~crap~~ wonderfully valuable items into and send off to the apartment. Time will tell. Think good thoughts that I can fit all of our stuff, including a Dyson, into the car and get us back up to MA in time to see Daddy before bed.

Come on in

2011-07-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

...and get your S fix

A girl with wings!

Digging on the baby shoes. Do the blue ones come in my size? Because I'd wear them all summer...

Newest pose. No, she's not put out. There's a pretzel in her mouth!

Playing water. I'm pretty sure my mom has an almost identical picture of me in this pose.

"What am I going to do with all these clothes???"

"Can't see me!"

"Here I am!"

Showing off ~~her~~ Mommy's Orioles hat

My new favorite picture

Such a ham

2011-07-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

On our way to Salem. Doesn't she look excited?

Not pictured, her coordinating sandals

Baby mohawk

2011-07-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

She finally has enough hair in front

Taking after her Daddy

2011-07-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

J was getting ready for a fighter practice, so S had a round with his sticks.

Only 4 more years and she can have her own set!

New favorite pictures

2011-07-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

S was having a calm(er) moment yesterday, staring out the back door and seeing...nothing. It was too hot for the kids to be outside, so I guess she was just enjoying the sunshine. I grabbed my camera and started snapping.

Scenes from a summer (so far)

2011-07-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

Trying on Mommy's flip flops

"Those look nice"

First "popsicle" (diluted apple juice)

Fruit salad (yum!)

Booby cookies!

First cookies and milk

2011-07-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

I made some cute little bite-sized chocolate chip cookies today, and decided it was time for S to give them a try. With milk, of course.

At first she was way more interested in her empty cup of applesauce

Then she discovered it held her cookie perfectly

Time to give this a try

Milk chaser--yum!

Now everything is covered in bits of chocolate!

House passed inspection!

2011-07-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

The one we're buying, that is :)

Despite the setback of June where we had a very old house fail inspection, we jumped back into the water and inspected Choice #2. And it passed with only minor issues. The seller is already taking care of the one issue we wanted addressed, and we'll deal with everything else when we move in.

We're looking at a mid/late September settlement date. I'm already picking out paint colors.

Our house in PA was inspected yesterday, but we haven't heard anything yet. No news is good news, right?

Happy July!

2011-07-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

Because I was lame and couldn't find the battery charger for the camera even close to July 4, here are some Independence Day pix, and then some:

Decked out for the 4th in her star onesie and rockin' red skirt

Let's go for a walk!

A blurry picture of my daughter modeling her new sweater

The blurry hand of my daughter trying to swipe her sweater as I attempt a close-up

Chillin' in her Super Seat

She has a perfectly full sippy cup of milk, but is insisting on...something on the counter

Our little one has had 2 straight days at the pool, and loved just about every minute. She has even attempted to jump off the top step straight into 3 feet of water, so Mommy is watching her like a hawk. Once we get settled we'll likely do some swimming lessons. I can't wait!

Finally, some pictures

2011-07-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

Eating a saltine in her "Girls Rock" tshirt and wool skirtie

Starting off the day in her PJs with her new toy--a fabric basket. She spent the day carrying this around.

A rare picture with Mommy. This was on the way to play with Daddy before I started dinner.

Her latest trick is to climb, everywhere. She scurries under the table, finds a chair with a gap, and shimmies up onto the seat. Then she tries to find something, anything on the table to play with. Today it was the napkin holder.

S's new shoes! I couldn't resist

Modeling them with her summer outfit

All ready for her trike ride with Daddy. It didn't work as well as expected. She didn't know that she was supposed to keep her feet up!

We're starting to settle in here. Inspection on the house in MA is next week, so hopefully we'll be ready to proceed to next steps shortly. We're taking S to a children's 4th of July parade tomorrow. Should be fun!

OK, time to talk positives, because there really are a lot

2011-06-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

After my vent session, it's time to talk about the positives going on in our lives.

The very first Monday we were here, S and I attended a GTG at the Children's Museum in downtown Boston. It was a blast. It wasn't that hard to get into the city, we found a primo parking garage (that validates parking at the museum), and the weather was perfect.

The museum has areas for kids of all ages. There's a toddler room that was perfect for S. She spent a good half hour playing with the giant train set, then wandered over to the giant car, which she climbed into herself! She loved turning the steering wheel and pressing the button that played car songs. When she got tired of that, she went to the play kitchen and sat at the table, checking out the other kids. I also discovered there's a real kitchen to have lunchtime with the kids. So cool. We are definitely considering an annual membership so she can go back and play to her heart's content. Daddy really wants to go!

And on the housing front, things are looking great. We got a solid offer on our house after a week on the market and 3 showings. We are so, so lucky. The inspection should happen in a week or so, and hopefully things will just keep chugging along. We also had an offer accepted on a house in MA, and the inspection, etc. should track nicely with the sale of our house. The move-in date won't be for a while yet, but we can extend our apartment stay if needed.

Speaking of our apartment, we're starting to enjoy the amenities available. J takes S out and about each evening while I make dinner, and has gotten to see quite a bit. They played with the neighbor kids behind our apartment the first night, and they checked out the tennis courts last night. After dinner we all headed out and walked the neighborhood.

S and I are also checking out local shops and markets. We went to our first farmer's market yesterday, and visited a new yarn store. We may be doing another farmer's market today and seeing what else the area has to offer.

And....drumroll please...we got our new bed! Yep, last night we slept in our brand new king-sized pillowtop bed, and it was awesome. I even got new bedding for it. I feel very fancy.

I have yet to locate a cord to upload any pictures I've taken, so you'll just have a wait a bit for that ;)

Gonna vent a little

2011-06-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough week.

We got into MA last Saturday ready to start our new life here. And it was a bit rocky. Our living room was a mass of boxes and various bits and bobs all over the place. The kitchen/DR table wasn't assembled. S's crib needed to be put together. We had no bed, just the pull-out sofa.

We spent Sunday looking at more houses. I feel like we've seen every house on the market in a 25 mile radius of J's work. We started to dig through the mess that was our apartment.

Monday J started work. We were a one-car family for the week, so this meant getting S up around 7:15 so we could get J over to the job site. We threw in the extra fun of meeting some Internet friends of mine and their kids at the Boston Children's Museum. We had a fabulous time, but it was a busy day.

The rest of the week was spent shuttling J to and from work, trying to dig ourselves out of the boxes, getting things set up, and getting ready to head back to PA.

Yeah, we did the drive again this weekend. In part it was to pick up all those little things we left at the house, and in part it was to visit J's family and celebrate his Maw's 85th birthday. So Friday at 4:30 we packed up and headed south. I think we got in around 11.

Saturday was a fun-filed day with J's family (S didn't stop running for about 3 hours), finding and buying a new bed, and keeping a sleepy toddler somewhat content during dinner. Sunday we were supposed to drive back, me with S and one car, and J with another car and some of the things we wanted to bring to MA.

90 minutes into our trip, J called me and said the car died. All the electrical had just shut off, and he was on an offramp in a random town in western NY state. Lovely. We got the car towed to an even more random town, crammed J and some stuff into my car, and headed back to our house in PA so we could regroup.

This morning J went into his old job site to get some work done (oh yeah, his power cord for his work computer is missing), and S and I made our way back to MA. I-84 was NOT fun today. J then left his work site at 3, swung by the house to make sure it looked show-able, swung by the mechanic to get more stuff out of his car, and brought Car #3 up north. He's still on the road as of this posting.

Did I mention I have a cold?

Anyhoo, on a brighter note, we're going to make an offer on a house tomorrow. And someone made a very good offer on our house in PA. So all is not lost.

Let's just hope this week goes a bit more smoothly.

Settling in

2011-06-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks, I'm writing to you from the comfy environs of our apartment in Massachusetts. It's been a whirlwind week. In the last 7 days we've packed up (most of) the last of our stuff to bring up here, listed the house for sale, started unpacking the stuff in the apartment, gotten S's room almost all set up, taken her to the Children's Museum, made a huge Walmart run, and figured out the best route to get J to work.

The living room no longer looks like an episode of Hoarders, but we still have a lot of unpacking and organizing to do. I'm attempting my first home-cooked meal tonight, which will probably be fabulous, given that S and I are going to Whole Foods this afternoon.

Pictures once I take some and find the cord to upload them to the computer.

You must make these

2011-06-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

Head over to my sister-in-law's blog and check out this entry.

Then make some. If you're not a vegan and don't have flax around, just substitute an egg for the flax and water. It works great, I promise.

And come back and tell me how fabulous they are. I ate 5 in one sitting this week. I just found another bag of chopped pecans in the pantry today, so I'm making another batch tomorrow. They'll be gone before our next trip to the new apartment.

Loving these pictures!

2011-06-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

My new favorite. S got this little flower headband with a diaper cover that came a few weeks ago. It rarely stays on for long.

Striking a familiar pose on the front walk

A fun part of a recent visit to the back yard. S found our gravel pit, and picked up one stone at a time...

...to give to Mommy

Someone is very proud of the fact that she got up on the chair all by herself

Too cute!

Crafty (and daughter-y) update

2011-06-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

With the weather getting warmer, I wanted S to have some skirted wool soakers. I mean, the panda pants are great and all, but they're cashmere, and it was 98 here yesterday.

I found a pattern and started making a skirtie. And decided I didn't like the yarn. And that I didn't have the right needle. So I got some beautiful Taos yarn in shades of deep pink, and a proper needle. And got to work.

Now I wonder why I waited so long to make this. It was super easy, and super quick. I finished it in a week, even in the middle of The Big Move.

It fits S great. Not baggy at all, but with a little room to grow.

Just the other day I found a yarn maker who makes a yarn colorway named after S. I immediately ordered 2 skeins of beautiful merino wool so I can do another skirtie. This one in blues and greens. I can't wait.

An open letter to Lowes

2011-06-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our oven died last week. Great, less than a month before we moved. We didn't want to leave the new owner in the lurch, and I wanted to cook/bake some of the stuff in the kitchen so we didn't have to move it. A visit to Lowes on the day before Memorial Day resulted in finding about 25 electric ranges and about 3 gas ranges (we have gas). We gave up, went online, and found what we wanted. At a store over an hour away, in another state. No problem, Lowes. You deliver and install for free. I heard it from a customer service rep.

Early this week an employee from your NJ store called to confirm a Friday delivery. This morning your delivery guys called and said you'd be here between 2 and 4pm. Fabulous.

At 5pm, your guys showed up. Wheeled the range into the house, looked at our existing range, and said, "We can't touch gas. You need someone to come disconnect your old range. Then you have to have them install the new one, and you can call us to drive back here and pick up the old one." After your guys stored the new range in our garage, they mentioned that it might also need a propane conversion kit. Absolutely none of this was mentioned during the buying and delivery scheduling process.

I called your NJ store. The operator was delightful (and apologetic), but no one answered the phone when I tried to talk to Appliances or a store manager. A call to your 800 number got someone who was apparently trained to be as neutral as possible as I ranted about what a cluster---- this whole process was.

A call back to your NJ store got me a snippy woman in Appliances who said they informed people who came in the store that they would need an outside person to do the install. But apparently that doesn't apply to people who order online, or whom they actually call to set up delivery. And she admitted that she was the one to call me to set up the appointment!

A call to my local store to find a conversion kit resulted in 4 tries to get anyone to answer the phone in Appliances. They finally had to have a store manager answer the phone so he could walk to Appliances in person and get my question answered.

Well, Lowes, it's your problem now. J did some detective work tonight and figured out that we need a $70 sensor replaced in our current range. We plan on picking up the part soon (tomorrow if we're lucky) and having you come take your brand spanking new range back to NJ. I hope the poor schmuck who buys it knows what he/she is getting into.

Woollie mail, in pictures

2011-06-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

Every so often, I talk about cloth diapers, and now is a great reason to do so!

Long ago, when I first talked about cloth diapers, I mentioned wool diaper covers. And the last time I got a cute shipment of them, I mentioned them as well. But yesterday was special.

Several weeks ago, I contact a seller on Etsy and asked if I could get a custom diaper cover from an old cashmere twinset I didn't fit into any more. No problem. She sent me a detailed questionnaire to make sure we got everything right, asked if I wanted any embellishments (of course I asked for a panda), and got to work. She sent me a preview a few days ago and I've been waiting patiently by the mailbox ever since.

After my knit night at my awesome LYS (more on that in another post), I dropped by the mailbox and saw this:

I knew it! My panda pants for S were finally here!

This morning I had to get them on the butt to see how they looked. S helped.

Hey Mom, what are these!

Check out my new paaaaaaaaaants!

Action shot. I am in love!

Scenes from a Memorial Day

2011-05-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

S with her Daddy as he took a break from packing

Our old iris blooming in front of our new light fixture

S strolling the grounds (and probably counting the dandelions)

Checking out the neighbors walking by

Where did my baby go??? Seriously she looks so grown up in this picture

Oh wait, there she is. Whew!

Out of season

2011-05-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

We're going through our first warm spell of the spring/summer--highs in the 80s, lots of humidity, afternoon and evening thunderstorms.

Yet I am knitting mittens.

I found another pattern from the book that brought you my mom's fingerless gloves. And I found some yarn that hadn't made it into a box for the move. And I got to knitting.

These aren't perfect, but I love the color, and it almost makes me want the fall to come that much sooner. Almost. (It was a long winter)

A picture to make you smile

2011-05-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

I was taking some pictures of cloth diapers in S's room and she suddenly realized I wasn't paying attention to her. I pointed the camera at her and said, "Smile!" This is what I got

We realized something last week

2011-05-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

S has been to 9 states already.

We're counting any state she's at least gotten a diaper change in. So her New England road trip last summer got her to PA, NY (oh yes, the diaper blowout at the WalMart), MA, ME, and NH. Her trip to Tahoe added AZ, CA, NV, and CO. I don't think we've stopped long enough in CT, but maybe we'll work on that.

Not bad for being a little over a year old, huh?

Finally, something for my husband

2011-05-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

Just about every guy I dated got something handmade from me. A blanket, or a scarf, or a throw. Except for my husband. Maybe that means something...

Anyhoo, I took a sock-knitting class last month. I had always wanted to try socks, but I needed someone to walk me through it. It was a great class.

It turns out the socks fit my husband quite well. And he loves them!

He makes a great foot model, no?

A (crafty) picture to make my mom happy

2011-05-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

When we travel, my souvenir idea is local yarn so I can make something to remind me of the place. It turns out there was a yarn store near our house in Tahoe. My mom, my sister in law and I headed over to it near the end of a day of shopping.

I found a really pretty hand-dyed yarn and a pattern for a wrap sweater for S. And I had my mom pick out some gorgeous sock yarn to make her some socks. While we were at it, my mom found a great pattern book and a pattern for ribbed wrist warmers. She thought they'd be great for her to wear when she and Dad spend time in Carmel.

I only managed to finish one of the pair while I was in Tahoe, but I finally got the second one done this week:

I just hope Mom knows where the mate is!

Good day sunshine

2011-05-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

The last week has been amazing around here. The sun has been out, temps were in the low 70s, it was dry and clear as a bell, and everything was blooming.

(That is not our house. This is a shot from our garage. But that is our magnolia in bloom.)

S and I have fallen into a nice springtime routine. After breakfast we head out and do some errands. By the time we get back it's usually naptime, then she has some lunch and hangs out in the house.

Sometime in the late afternoon we put on S's Crocs and head outside.

The first couple of times, S was really tentative around new surfaces. If she started to wobble near the mulch or the grass in the back yard, she'd throw her hands out but try her hardest not to touch the alien surface. After finally getting her hands dirty, she got more comfortable with the whole situation. Now she motors straight toward the rose bush or the backyard.

S is fascinated by the (too many) dandelions in the yard. By next year she'll have figured out how to blow on them.

We're going to have to figure out a new routine this week since it's going to rain for days on end. But S has a really cute raincoat, so I'm sure we'll figure it out.

Traveling fools

2011-05-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, in the midst of a major move, we decided to take a cross-country trip to Tahoe to see my family. In all reality, the trip has been planned for almost a year, it just happened to fall in the middle of The Great Move.

S had her own seat on the airplane, so it was my purpose in life to find a car seat that would fit in it. Amazon had an amazing deal on this one, because it was a discontinued fabric.

S did really well on the plane, all things considered. It was more of a learning curve for Mommy and Daddy to figure out what would make her happy.

S had a wonderful time with her aunts, uncles, and cousins, not to mention Nana and Tapa. The house was roomy, with lots of opportunities to climb and check herself out in the mirror.

Nana and her youngest granddaughter posed on the back porch before we took off.

There was still plenty of snow, which isn't surprising. Tahoe got 61 FEET this season.

Before we knew it, it was time to get back on the plane and head home.

Thanks Nana and Tapa for a wonderful visit!

Happy Birthmother's Day!

2011-05-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is the day we think (even more) about S's birthmom and her decision that makes tomorrow extra special for me. It's Birthmother's Day.

Even though we don't see/talk to each other often, we are so happy that S has her birthmom in her life in some way, and they can have a relationship. We just got an e-mail from S's birthmom today, and we will see her next month. We are very blessed.

Happy Easter! (picture heavy, just the way you like it)

2011-04-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

S's first Easter basket from Mommy and Daddy (with a few things from Nana and Tapa). Maw and Grania are bringing even more goodies soon.

"Reading" her Easter card from Nana and Tapa

Playing with her new book

In her Easter dress. This is actually her baptism dress with the bottom skirt taken off. Pretty cool, no?

And in something more comfortable for the afternoon hours

Dinner: pork tenderloin, garlic bread, and green beans

Dessert: strawberries, fresh cream, and a slice of bunny cake

Isn't he handsome?

In trouble (again)

2011-04-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting pictures of S. Sorry. I could blame it on a host of factors, or I can just shut up and post.

Too cute in her overalls

Grinning with Daddy on our road trip

So happy it's spring

Don't Drink the Water is on the move!

2011-04-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well, the blog will stay here, but the people I write about are moving!

J took a position at a company in Massachusetts, and we are heading north. He will start there FT in June. The position sounds great, and the relocation package can't be beat. We will miss all of the people we've gotten to know in the area, but we are excited about the many, many opportunities we will have in the Boston area. If this site seems to be slow with updates, now you know why.

If you have a house to sell in the Canton/Stoughton/Dedham area, we may be your people.

And if you want a lovely house in the Poconos, we may have one that's just right for you ;)

Trying video again

2011-04-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

OK, that only took a gazillion tries, but I learned something new today

Trying the randomness again

2011-04-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

My favorite hat, from Cousin G. It never stays on long.

A certain cutie hugging her Very Hungry Caterpillar

My very first sock. And it fits J!

S with her new piano. She plays with it several times a day, and she loves it! Thanks Grania!

Blog fail

2011-04-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

First I tried to upload the videos, to no avail. This morning I tried to upload pictures and text, and I've never seen wonkier formatting. After 2 editing attempts, I gave up. Maybe I'll try again after S goes down for her nap.

Bummer

2011-03-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

For the last few days I've been trying to upload video of S. One is on her cool trike from Grania--it has a piece that makes it a rocker, or that piece can swing around to help push S on her trike, or we can take it off and she can ride it. Someday. We also had video of her climbing the stairs, which just melts my heart. She goes up a few steps, turns around and grins at me, and keeps going. Alas, the videos refuse to load so you're stuck with descriptions. But pictures to come. In the meantime our wonky oven seems to have normaled out again (is that a word?), so I may have some baking pix to share (the cranberry scones were delicious). I'm almost done with one of J's socks from my sock class, and I'm dangerously close to finishing a cabled cape that looks gorgeous. Oh, and we're expecting a Nor'easter starting tonight, so there may be yet *another* chance for S to wear her snow suit. So when there are pictures to share, I'll be sure to share them.

Last hurrah

2011-03-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

It may be spring by the calendar's reckoning, but our area hasn't quite gotten the message. We just had what I hope is our last snowfall of the season, so I bundled up S and let her enjoy one last hurrah.

Checking out the kids coming home from school. We learned something new now that S is walking--her snow boots squeak! We were both delighted with this revelation.

Walking on snow-covered ground is not for S. She preferred to just sit and try to figure out the white stuff.

It was so cute to watch her toddle along the sidewalk. She hasn't yet had many chances to walk outside, so we still find it to be quite the novelty.

C'mon Mom, let's go!

The big tease

2011-03-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

I realize it's still March, and snow is still a distinct possibility. But this is getting old.

The kicker is, it was 70 degrees on Friday.

They mentioned something along the lines of another 4-8" over the day tomorrow.

*sigh*

Kid pictures to share

2011-03-22T06:50:00.001-07:00

Motoring around the island in her Irish shirt. S's latest thing is to do a running loop around the island, just because

She LOVES her birthday balloons. She's figured out how to get them off the back of her high chair, and she carries them all over the living room.

I just love this picture. J took it while I was out running errands.

Another J picture. He's taught S how to put boxes on her head as "hats". So she got her bin for her blocks and ran around the living room with it on her head. She thought it was hilarious!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

Where's the soda bread? OK, any breakfast food will do...

Not digging the shoes, Mom

But the outfit? It's cool.

Toddler in strange places

2011-03-11T10:16:00.001-08:00

Heading for the dryer, with her new hat from Cousin G on her head

A seamstress in the making, playing with Mommy's measuring tape

Sitting on the arm of her new chair from Grania

And...stand

Are you sensing a theme???

Doing some remodeling ;)

2011-03-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

S got some sentimental pieces of art from Nana in recent months. One was a beautiful panda print from Chinatown in San Francisco, and another was an embroidered pillowcase from my Nana that my mom had framed for S's room. It was a perfect time to put them up and show them off.

Now they're up next to the window S sees when she wakes up every morning!

Sickness abounds

2011-03-09T18:38:00.000-08:00

Monday afternoon S started with a runny nose. We weren't sure if it was from her shots that morning or a cold creeping up on her. She slept horribly Monday night, she was so congested.

Tuesday was a disaster. Her nose was a faucet, she hated getting it wiped off, and by the afternoon I had a mild headache and a scratchy throat. Tuesday night's sleep was even worse than Monday.

Despite the craptastic sleep, S was up at 8:10 this morning, raring to go. I dragged my tired butt out of bed and just tried to keep up with her. By the afternoon her faucet-y nose was drying up, and I felt horrible. S got 2 naps in, one with Mommy in the afternoon so we could all feel better. J came home and said he thinks he's getting sick.

If things go as expected, S will be back in healthy form by tomorrow, and my cold will be easing up. J still has the worst night to look forward to. So far S has been asleep for almost an hour and we haven't heard a peep. Yay!

More pictures to make my mom happy

2011-03-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

My mom was shocked (shocked I tell you) and more than a bit disappointed that none of S's birthday pictures included her. She told me no fewer than 3 times in our last phone call that I needed to remedy that situation.

She'll probably be mildly disappointed in some aspects of the photos I chose (I picked her "bad side" or didn't crop appropriately), but I think they're lovely.

I hope Dad doesn't make a similar request. I found zero pictures of him with S. I think he and Mom arm-wrestle in the car for who gets the baby when they get here, and Mom rigs the results.

Here you go, Mom. I hope you like them.

12 month stats, and pictures to make my mom happy

2011-03-07T14:12:00.001-08:00

S had her 12 month checkup this morning. The ladies at the front desk couldn't believe she was a year old already. She's holding steady at 20 pounds (all that walking doesn't allow for much weight gain), and has shot up to 30 inches tall. The doctor said she may be "petite". Other than 2 shots (which didn't bother her in the least), it was a very uneventful appointment. Just the way we like it.

When we got home, I put some of S's clothes away and went through her closet as I tend to do pretty often. I toss out all the clothes she's outgrown, put the current sizes front and center, and organize them the best I can while a small person is flinging clothes and hangers all over her room. I remembered that her birthday outfit came with a poofy skirt, and decided to put it on her.

Gotta love the cankles.

Now, I don't put her in a lot of frilly or girly stuff. Heck, half the time she looks like a boy. At this age I don't think she needs anything too fancy. As someone who has mostly crawled until recently, dresses are (literally) a drag because they hit right at the knee and stop momentum. And she's just going to get food all over it anyway. But I'll admit she looked adorable.

Of course, as I was taking her skirt off, I decided to see how it looked on her head. J shot this picture right before S ripped it off.

Scenes from a birthday

2011-03-06T17:36:00.001-08:00

S's birthday banner

The first birthday plates, and the amazing (I mean a MA zing) cupcakes my friend Cathy made

Beautiful girl

With her stocking hat from Maw

The piano prodigy

In her new chair

Testing out the cupcake

"Oh, I'm supposed to eat it!"

Her personalized book from Grania

Checking out her dinosaur egg

S has had a wonderful weekend. She got to go out to dinner with her Nana and Tapa at her favorite Irish restaurant. She went to the outlets. She had a little party with her family. She had her first sweets, in the form of yummy cupcakes. She was inundated with amazing presents that will last for years. She got to see her Nana, Tapa, Grania, Maw, Aunt Annie, and Uncle Bruce. It was a great weekend that we will remember for a long time to come.

Coming Home Day

2011-03-05T18:40:00.001-08:00

A year ago today, we brought S home for the first time.

Stupidly, J and I decided to go to work for a half a day that day. I'm not exactly sure why, because we certainly weren't going to get any work done. It did give me a chance to talk to my HR department about time off, and grab a few things from my office. Around lunchtime we met at home, and J strapped the car seat into the car. Of course, he put it behind the driver's seat, and he has long legs, so that meant I was driving.

S's birthmom didn't have a going-home outfit for S, so we went through our small stash of baby clothes to find something cute. The only "cute" outfit we had was a 6-9 month size, and we (again stupidly) thought it would fit just fine on a not-quite 7-pound baby.

We headed to the hospital and waited for the social worker to arrive. We all headed up to the hospital room and started the process of getting S home. Her birthmom signed some papers. The nurse handed us all sorts of stuff. We put a ginormous sleeper on a tiny baby. J and the nurse negotiated getting S into her car seat. The nurse said we needed to make sure the angle of the seat was right, "or the baby can fall forward and suffocate". Great. S's birthmom and I exchanged panicked glances, and the nurse quietly recommended that someone ride in back with her.

S's birthmom, having already given us the greatest gift we could imagine, gave us a present. A present. Can you believe it? It was a beautiful figurine of a couple with a little baby. We were so, so touched.

We all took the elevator down together, and said our last goodbyes to S's birthmom and her mom. There were tears and promises to see each other soon.

We got into our car and headed home. S's giant hat kept slipping over her eyes, so J spent most of the drive uncovering them. We stopped for a bite at Sonic, and S got hungry. J gave her his first bottle there. I looked over and saw a car full of teenagers and realized how different our lives were at that moment.

We got home and realized we still didn't have a crib mattress. J left me alone in the living room with a newborn and headed to WalMart. He got a mattress, a bedding set, and every item of clothing that said newborn on it. I don't remember the rest of the night. Something about trying to put her in her crib, then bringing her into bed when that didn't work. J created a nest of blankets for her, and she slept for 4 or 5 hours.

And so began parenthood...

Reliving The Call

2011-03-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

A year ago today, we got The Call that we were going to be S's parents.

It started out like any other day. J and I were getting over a monster cold, and I still had a nasty cough. I attended a mind-numbing meeting that wasn't really relevant to my project at the time, and headed back to my desk. I stopped to talk to our editor, and heard my phone ringing. I figured, "Oh, I'll just check messages when I get done, it's probably no big deal."

I finally wandered back to my office and checked my e-mail. There was one from J that said "Call me. We got matched. It's an emergency".

Eeee! I called J on his cell phone, and the first words out of his mouth were, "Do you want to be a mommy?" I wanted to yell, "Yes!"

He gave me a ton of details, and my boss wandered in to drop something off. I finished up with J and said, "We got matched!" I called our social worker to tell her we were on our way, and she gave me more details. The baby had already been born, her birthmom was firm in her adoption plan, and she had picked our profile. She wanted to meet that afternoon. As people trickled by my office, I got to share the good news. We called our parents.

[Interesting aside: a couple of weeks before this, I'd sent a list of phone numbers for our social worker to call in this situation. I just *knew* that J would be unavailable, so I gave her a long list of numbers to reach me, and a short list of numbers to reach J. Our social worker couldn't get a hold of me that day, but J answered on the first ring. Go figure.]

An hour later I was on my way home. J met me there and we tried to figure out what would be a good gift for S's birthmom and her mom, who was spending time with her in the hospital. We called a local florist and tried to explain that we needed 2 floral bouquets in the next 20 minutes. I asked J to throw all of our collected baby clothes in the wash, because we'd need them soon.

We drove 2 hours to the hospital, and waited as the social worker for S's birthmom made her way through rush-hour traffic to meet up with us. We sat in the parking lot while I called my HR department, and I canceled my weekend waxing appointment (I have priorities, ya know). We headed inside and waited some more. We glanced at the magazines in the hospital lobby.

The social worker finally arrived, and we headed up to the maternity ward. We met the cutest, sweetest, young woman and her mom. We chatted. We talked about S's birth story. We talked about what her birthmom did for a living. We talked about us. We talked about our families. We talked, and talked, and talked.

A nurse brought S in. She looked SO tiny. We asked if we could hold her, and her birthmom said absolutely. She was a light as a feather. The next thing I knew, J was chilling in a hospital chair with a little bundle on his chest.

We overwent our "allotted" chatting time by about a half hour, we were getting along so well. The social worker finally told us that we had to head out so we could sign paperwork at our agency office.

We got in the car and drove over an hour to our office, where our social worker was waiting with a mountain of paperwork. Most of which said that we were now responsible for another human being, and also noting that we could take her home the next day. Around 9pm, we headed home, put the baby clothes in the dryer, and tried to sleep. Because we were in for another really--big--day...

Happy Birthday S!

2011-03-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about the past year, so the next few days are going to be some reflections on what happened just 12 months ago.

A year ago today, S was born. Her birthmom, unaware she was even pregnant (yes, it happens, and more often than you think) gave birth, by herself, at home.

A year ago today, S's birthdad got the most surprising phone call of his life, telling him that he had a daughter. And he chose to ignore the news.

A year ago today, S's birthmom, after being admitted to the hospital and getting some rest, looked at this gorgeous little girl and realized that she couldn't be the mom she wanted to be for her daughter. She couldn't provide her with a mom and a dad. She couldn't stay at home with her, something she had growing up.

A year ago today, this amazing woman decided that the best thing she could do for her daughter was to place her for adoption with a family who could give her all the things she couldn't.

A year ago today, S's birthmom looked at 2-page profiles of families who wanted to adopt and saw a picture of a guy with a silly hat on his head. And thought he liked to have fun. And that he might be a great dad for a certain little girl.

A year ago today, we had no idea any of this was happening.

A year ago today, J and I went to work like any normal Wednesday. I can't even tell you much about what was going on. I was working on a new project that was taking up a lot of my company's time. We were going to opening night of Alice in Wonderland on Friday.

A year ago today, I posted this post on this blog. And ordered some baby clothes online, because we didn't know if we might be matched with a baby soon.

We had no idea what was going to happen in just one day.

This morning, a gorgeous one-year-old woke up at 8:30am ready to start the day. And heard the strains of Happy Birthday to You from her Mommy. This afternoon she's going to see her Nana and Tapa, who flew out all the way from California to celebrate with her. Tonight she's going out to dinner with Mommy, Daddy, Nana, and Tapa.

It's going to be a good day.

I'm knitting socks!

2011-02-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

Unlike most knitters, I have never learned to knit socks. I tried to knit some booties with a sock-type heel a few years back, and it ended in disaster.

Now I get to remedy this gap in my repertoire. My local yarn store offered a Socks 101 class, and the first of 2 parts was this morning. If all goes well, J is going to get a beautiful pair of socks by April!

Brave baby

2011-02-23T11:02:00.001-08:00

At S's 9-month appointment, our doctor ordered bloodwork to check iron and lead levels. I asked how bad a blood draw on an infant was going to be, and he said it would be 5 minutes of misery. Oh yeah, I was so looking forward to this.

Yesterday we bit the bullet and headed over to the hospital lab. I started getting nervous when the phlebotomist called for backup for S.

S sat on my lap while the 2 nice ladies told her how beautiful she was, and poked around her arms to find a good vein. The finally settled on one and put the little tourniquet on her little arm. S just looked at them like, "This is new." The stuck her with the needle and dug around a bit until they hit paydirt. I'm watching all of this waiting for the scream.

Nothing. S just sat there taking it all in. They collected their 2 vials, finished up, and put a giant cotton ball on her arm with some tape. They gave her 2 stickers, which she looked at like they were aliens (we have yet to give her any stickers). Then she gave them a huge grin.

I am a proud momma!

Adoption and Social Security

2011-02-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

It's been an interesting few months when it comes to S's Social Security card.

When S was born, the uber-efficient hospital sent her information to the Social Security Administration. Two weeks later, S's birthmom got her SS card. She told us about it last June, and our agency's lawyer said we could do a name change once the adoption was finalized. Great.

S's adoption was finalized in October, and we received her new birth certificate with her new name in December-ish. At that point we started the hunt for S's SS card. We knew it was either with her birthmom or with the agency. We figured since S already had a number, it was going to be easier just to change the name on the card. Ha!

Well, we worked with one social worker in one office, and S's birthmom worked with another social worker in another office. So they had to coordinate to find out where the card was (S's birthmom had sent it to them months ago) and how to get it to us. And they had to make sure it was OK with S's birthmom, who by the way was the one who told us about it. Minor chaos ensued.

We finally got her original SS card last week. Which meant a trip to the SSA office near us to get a name change. I was not looking forward to this. When we got married, I went to an office near us. It was old, crowded, and had a single person processing everyone. One person! I ended up waiting about 3.5 hours for a 20-second transaction. I was hoping for better this time.

The first sign that things would go better was the new location. It turns out there's an office even closer to us, and it was lovely. Huge, bright, clean, and there were only 3 people waiting. Awesome. After 15 minutes we were called up to the window and I inundated the poor lady with every piece of adoption paperwork we had in our possession. 10 minutes later we had everything done, and S will get a new card in the mail soon.

Bonus: the security guard there said S was the best behaved baby he'd seen in that office in 10 years.

Rascal

2011-02-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine has a son born the same day as S. She was noting in a recent e-mail that her son is getting into the "rascal" stage. I knew exactly what she was talking about. S has been getting into everything, especially things she shouldn't. Of late, the entertainment center, the garbage can, and the drawer of notepads are her favorites. We've tried various barriers--we have plexiglass over the entertainment center, and we've tried kitchen chair barricades around the garbage can.

The drawer full of notepads is a recent development. Before last week, S was content to rifle through the filing cabinet right below it, and I called her my little receptionist. But this week she realized she was tall enough to reach the drawer. This is what happened next...

The chair barricade is now up during waking hours ;)

Walking!

2011-02-16T14:29:00.000-08:00

Eeeeee!

Showing my age (and bragging on a bargain)

2011-02-15T06:28:00.000-08:00

As soon as I saw this picture

I thought of the French Lieutenant's Woman (circa 1981)

We love S's bunting, that I got for a whopping $5 at a Macy's clearance sale. We had to make a quick run to drop off a car for service, and I just threw S in and headed for the car. Love, love, love. I almost want winter to last a while longer....

Scenes from a Valentine's Day (so far)

2011-02-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

S in her pink heart shirt, showing off her teeth

Looking adorable in the kitchen

Winding down with her Valentine's Day mouse

Looking for Hobbes

Trying to decide what to read next

We have almost a week's worth of Valentine's themed clothing, so there will be a lot of red and hearts this week.

In her big girl bed

2011-02-03T09:10:00.001-08:00

S's changing table is up against her future big girl bed, a big trundle bed we have covered with stuffed animals. She decided she wasn't as tired as Mommy thought she was, so she rolled off her changing table and checked out her future bed.

Surveying the ridiculous number of stuffed animals we have.

Playing with an ancient bear that used to be Daddy's. I wound it up so she could hear it play music.

Discovering On the Night You Were Born, read to her by Grania.

If you haven't seen these, Hallmark has a series of books where you can record yourself reading them to someone. S has 4 of them right now: On the Night You Were Born and Frosty the Snowman, read to her by Grania, Twas the Night Before Christmas, read to her by Nana and Tapa, and All Things Bright and Beautiful, read to her by her birthmother. She loves them all.

Settling in to hear her book.

Turning the pages. She looked so cute.

11 Months!

2011-02-03T09:02:00.001-08:00

I got one decent picture of her with her blocks.

The rest looked more like this (oh yeah, she's crying hysterically because she can't reach them):

Or this:

*sigh*

She's such a big girl!

Purty

2011-02-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

First up, we have me attempting to take a picture of the single curl behind S's ear:

Yes, it's out of focus. And yes, she's trying to eat the end of a string to our blinds. Before you yell at me for being a bad mom, there are no loops involved and I watch her like a hawk.

Next up we have the way the back of her hair all "sways" to the left:

Adorable

So I put S in one of my favorite shirts and her overalls yesterday. She looked so cute. She started digging around in her shoe drawer, and I decided to see what shoes fit. For those of you who don't know, this kid has micro-feet. She's wearing a size 2, or an infant size 3-6 months. And she's almost a year old. Oh, and she has a ton of shoes, most of which are too big for her.

It turns out the sparkly Mary Janes that Aunt M and Cousin G sent last summer finally fit (sorta--they're hard to get on but she practically falls out of them once they're on her feet). So our little darling was in overalls and sparkly shoes. Nana says that's today's style.

We got back to bare feet shortly thereafter. Much more appropriate ;)