Fish tank

At Etta's school it's become part of the morning drop off routine to go and look at the fish tank before going to the classroom. It took me about 10 visits before I noticed the bottom-feeder fish they keep in there. It's always behind this rock, hiding out (it's a brown blob in the photo). Etta loves to look in one end and I look in the other end. It's cute, as you might imagine.

In slow motion

This fall, Cree and I re-evaluated our day care transport schedule in light of our new responsibilities.  I ended up with morning drop-off since she has to be at work much earlier and thankfully I can be a little flexible.  Etta has to be at school around 9, and then Cree goes to pick her up by 4, so I drop her off and then come home later.

This sounds simple, right?

It's not.  My supervisor at work affectionately calls this process of getting out of the house "The Morning Marathon" and it's amazing how time gets absorbed into some black hole, which is parts negotiation, and parts trickery.  Some days, I'm exhausted by the time I get to work!

Yesterday was one of these days.  Etta is the Queen of Getting Sidetracked, which requires me to be the Regent of Distraction from Distraction Techniques.  If you live with a toddler, you will know that this is hard work.  Here's a little timeline from yesterday morning.

7:35 - I am getting ready (and letting Etta sleep a little longer, because it's easier) when she begins calling out "Mama!  Mama!  I'm up!!!"

7:40 - Etta is reading books while I attempt to cajole her to come to the bathroom and use the potty.

7:41 - Brings books to bathroom.   Has to go back for one she forgot.

7:42 - Refuses to use the potty.

7:43 - I am able to partially undress her while she looks at the books

7:45 - She realizes what I am doing, and then wants to take off her diaper herself.  Throws diaper on floor.

7:46 - Refuses to use the potty again.

7:47 - Cat comes in and books are forgotten.

7:50 - Follows cat around, and I suggest we show the cat how we wash our hands (which is really bait for brushing teeth.)

7:52 - Wants to use two toothbrushes (mental note: I need to hide that travel toothbrush).

7:54 - Begin brushing teeth while I brush her hair.

7:57 - Drinks from sink (thanks to Cree for that one.)

8:00 - I put on her diaper and clothing and tell her I'm going to get dressed.  She comes in and puts on my shoes.

8:10 - Wears my shoes downstairs to show the other cat.

8:13 - Begins eating breakfast.  Shoes fall off.

8:15 - I pack diapers and snack for after school (we have a train ride after school to Cree's work!).

8:19 - Finishes breakfast.  I am making some for myself and she starts to play.

8:23 - Plays with stickers.

8:27 - I eat.  She notices that one of her dolls is crying (her favorite emotion to assign) and brings her to me for comfort.  I finish eating with the doll on my lap.

8:32 - Plays with another baby doll & pretend food.

8:35 - I begin packing my lunch.

8:38 - Empties pretend food all over the floor.

8:44 - I put shoes on her and start moving toward door.  I turn off kitchen light.

8:46 - Returns to kitchen to put babies in play shopping cart.  Says, "I need five babies in here."

8:48 - Pushes cart to door, negotiates one baby to take to car.  I take this as a win for me, so out we go.

8:49 - Looks for a leaf on the ground, must take it to the car.

8:50 - Drive to day care & find parking spot 3 blocks away.  Must remember stroller, backpack, my lunch, my bag and coffee.

9:02 - Refuses stroller.  I persuade her by offering a (premeditated) snack.  Gets in stroller.

9:03 - Walk 3 blocks to day care.

9:09 - Get in elevator and move toward classroom.  Gets out of stroller and runs to fish tank.

9:11 - Looks at fish and I hustle her back to classroom.  Kiss goodbye.

9:14 - I return to entrance, sign her in, put away stroller, and walk/run to work.

9:34 - Arrive at work.  Did I mention I had a 9:30 meeting?  Late for meeting.

This is how the minutes are sucked away.  Two hours to get ready and to work?  It's ridiculous, but this is how things are now.  When the new baby is ready for day care, I'm going to have to get up 3 hours earlier than when I need to be anywhere.   Or get a nanny.

A year has passed!

Well, now we're pregnant again!  We're expecting baby #2 in late February, so I was reminded that this blog is a nice way to keep track of the pregnancy.  I came back, and man, it's been a long time.

Q: Can you realistically cover an entire year in one blog post?
 A: No But we can post some photos that show how things have changed!

First bites of solid food (ew! rice cereal!)








Hang on a second. I just realized that TWO years have passed!! That definitely means we won't cover it all. Get ready for the fast-forward version...

Developed obsession with first (of many, many) singing toys from Mammaw & Pappaw.  This one sings some version of the Witch Doctor song and is a dog dressed like a pumpkin.  Ostensibly in the spirit of Halloween.

Got an adorable red satin and velvet fur-trimmed dress for holiday time.

Grew in teeth just in time to chew hands during holiday photos.

 Dressed up as Teen Wolf for Halloween.  Yes, we were in costume too -- as the dad and Stiles.

















Went to Thanksgiving parade here in Philly because we couldn't get it together to go to New York.

Saw the holiday lights at Wanamakers.

Left cookies for Santa!!

Opened xmas presents in pj's.

Turned two, and opened presents again!  A remote control truck! Thanks Pappaw!

Continued love of water fountains.

So that's that. I guess we're all up to date!  More to come soon!

Summertime is fun-o-matic

Before we get to the photos, I want to let you all know that we're going to be in Ohio this weekend! We're hoping to set up some activities where we can get to see some of you -- maybe go to the park or something. If you have ideas, let me know, otherwise I'll post again with some options.

Until then, here are some pictures of what we've done so far this summer.

We went to the beach!


We dug a little hole in the sand for a nap, and she woke up so happy.


Dressed up like a gladiator.


Went camping, even though it was cold at night.


Stayed safely out of the sun thanks to baby leg warmers on the arms.


Dressed up in the fancy outfit Grandma sent for Our Nation's Birthday.

Shore weekend

Our friend J's parents have a house they rent down the shore (that's how you say it here, Down The Shore) in Ocean City, and it was vacant a couple weekends ago, so we were invited to stay.

It was really fun to take Etta to the beach for the first time. It's only about an hour and a half drive, but with traffic it took about 2 hours. It was chilly and rainy when we arrived, so she went right to bed and we stayed up until the wee hours talking. It's the first time I've willingly stayed up past 1 am for a long time!

It was a little chilly all weekend, too cold for me to get in the water. I just sat in a chair with Etta in long pants and sleeves, but Cree and J went in both days. That's them out there:






Instead of putting Etta in the actual ocean, especially since she can't sit up alone and it was all cold, we set up a baby pool for her on the patio and let the sun warm the water up a bit. She cried when she first got in, but then she came around.

Here's the cuteness with a bunch of floaty rings:


Here she's staring the starfish down:


She was really content in there, all splashy and cute.

Here's her full bathing gear, for any of you who haven't already seen this on Facebook:

Two months

I can't believe it's been two months already! She is beginning to be a little more interactive, smiling and actually looking at you when you talk to her. Here are some new photos of the little angel.



Here's a closeup.


And here she is, ready for baseball season. Not that I really care too much about baseball, but this shirt is so cute, and it's nice to be a part of the excitement. The smile is really the high point of this one though, obviously.


This is her Easter outfit. It has crinoline underneath and was really slippery.


Also, Bevin posted a ton of photos from Easter at our house, including some of us eating, Etta sleeping, and this awesome video of her pooping. Etta, not Bevin.

One Month!

Etta is a month old now, and we decided to have a little party in her honor. We got her all dressed up in her party dress, but it was SO bizarre because she looked just like a doll. Really Weird. So, Cree made a striped hat and legwarmers (with a red glitter skull & crossbones) to offset it.


Later, we tried on some moustachios.


It's been really great so far, except she is now doing this weird grunty sound at night when she lies down and I can't sleep because I think she's choking. Other moms -- did your kids make weird sounds when they were tiny?

GOODNESS, GOODNESS

I have heard saying about not understanding the love of a parent until you become one yourself. I now understand that sentiment fully. I have never felt so much love, it is just pouring out of me everywhere. I had to leave the house to go to my work for a few hours today and I thought my heart had broken in half. I was sick to my stomach and every inch of traffic felt like miles until I could be back home with her. Did I mention she is perfect?!

 

Enough about me here are some photos of her and her room!

At about 6 days old:


Sporting her OSU gear:


Her room:




And for you photo junkies, here's more photos from Bevin and from Jordan