This blog is temporarily on hold...

This blog is temporarily on hiatus until after the holiday festivities are over. Taking classes and traveling too much for work has left me scrambling as the countdown to (Christmas and our flight home!!) quickly approaches.

Once we return from the Christmas fun (and NY!!) I'm sure I will have plenty to talk about being that Baby-C will be having so many 'first' experiences in the next few weeks.

Merry Christmas to all and see you in 2008!!

(Gosh, I'm starting to feel a bit old!)

Giggles

I love Baby-C giggles in the morning.

It was a particularly long night last night, I went straight from work to class and didn't get home until 10. Big Daddy picked Baby-C up from the sitters last night, so the last I saw of her was when I dropped her at the sitters in the morning, late as usual.

I was secretly pleased when she woke up early this morning, just as the coffee was brewing. I scooped her up from her bed, and we cuddled on the couch as I sipped my coffee and she chugged her milk. I then partook in one of my favorite morning activities of tickling Baby-C to the point of wetting her pants (if she wasn't still wearing diapers). Have you ever noticed how toddler giggles have a certain 'je ne sai pas' of happiness, joy and carefree living?

It was a particularly peaceful and rejuvenating morning after such an exhausting day.

A day of sleep...

It's already been a rough day for Baby-C and I. I managed to drag myself out of bed bright and early for my morning run (we managed to squeeze in a good 3 miles...not bad!), get home make coffee, and run up-stairs to jump in the shower before Baby-C wakes up. When I get up stairs Big Daddy is still in the shower, and Baby-C is starting to stir. I rush Big Daddy out of the shower, jump in and dance around to avoid the cold bursts of water periodically surprising me as Big Daddy finishes shaving. All is quiet as I escape the shower and tip toe down our creaky stairs for a cup of coffee. (Did I mention I really love my old house?) Well on my way back up I hit a loose floor board, Baby-C wakes up, and I'm still in my robe. Did I add that we have to leave the house in 30 minutes?

Baby-C is in the 'don't put me down or I'll scream my head off and make the neighbors think you are pulling my toenails out one by one' mood, so I bribe her with cheerios in bed, my bed. I'm sure I'll find some between the sheets when I go to bed sometime tonight. We make it downstairs just in time for me to realize Baby-C's jacket is in the car, it is 48 degrees out, and we needed to leave three minutes ago. Being the bad mom I am we race to the car and do the jacket there (I really loved that quaint alley parking when we bought the house) and we're off, with just a quick pit stop at the coffee shop. One mocha for the baby sitter, a thank you for keeping Baby-C late this evening until Big Daddy can pick her up, and an almond latte for me to replace the revolting coffee I brewed.

I dream of a day of sleep. Me, Baby-C and maybe even Big Daddy, pjs, blankets, a fire going and nothing to do all day...hmmm, when can we schedule this in?

More potty chairs

Potty Chairs...again.

We did end up buying a potty chair for Baby-C. She's not quite sure what this is all about, but the new 'chair' makes a great stool or play thing in here eyes. In the week that we have had it she has become fond of standing on top of it while singing and pointing at the dogs or systematically taking it apart piece by piece while whipping the various parts across the room... Granted, she will be 14 months next week, so my expectations weren't too high.

Busy weekend!

Well we went potty chair shopping yesterday...wow! The choices out there!! I was amazed at the number of shelves dedicated to potty chairs. Looking at some of these high-tech contraptions, I felt almost ashamed at the simple plastic and wooden potty chair I remember my parents having for us. Daddy-J and I left pottiless, we weren't sure if it was too soon to buy Baby-C a chair or not, but I think I'll be taking a trip back this week to buy one and Baby-C and I can practice while Daddy is off for a boys football trip this weekend.

Baby-C was a constant ball of motion this weekend. She has mastered climbing up and down the stairs to the landing, and decided it was a good weekend to let go of the wall and start walking. She is even so talented as to be able to stand and drink from her cup, all at once!! Three new teeth arrived, two being the dreaded one year molars, and we were rewarded for surviving last weekends struggles with a sleep in Saturday! No one was up before 8:30, I don't think that has happened in our house for well over a year!!

Agh, it is Friday!

I went through my purse today over lunch...I think I was looking for a pen. This is what I found:

• Palm Pilot
• Cell Phone
• Two pens
• Wallet and check book
  
• Three receipts
  
• My list of babysitting dates, if my babysitter ever calls me back
• A bag of animal crackers
• Four thank you notes from baby-C's birthday party I still have to distribute
• Four MaryJanes
• A tube of lip gloss
• A plastic bag full of teething meds
• A granola bar
• My reusable bag for the next trip to the store
• A pair of earrings
  
• And of course, a book about colors

Hmmm, note to self, add "cleaning out my purse" to my list of things to do this weekend.

So, whats in your purse?

One of Baby-C's "One Year Portraits"

Changes in one year

(Left: Baby-C enjoying her birthday cake last weekend.)


I am constantly amazed at the little girl my precious Baby-C has become. It has been one year and two weeks since she was born, and while we were driving in the car this morning I started reminiscing. Maybe this was triggered by her peek-a-boo playing at the stop light with the brightly flowered sun-hat that has become a fixture upon her head lately, or the banana she scarfed down in five seconds flat as she sat at the breakfast table and the absolute joy she gets from tossing unwanted cheerios over to the dogs. I'm not sure.

Changes I've noticed in my life, you ask? Well I no longer worry about spit up stains on my blouse as I rush into my office each morning, or the tell tale damp circles appearing if a meeting runs over, also some mornings I find myself having to go in and wake Baby-C in the morning, instead of depending on her to be my alarm clock.

I do realize I have done noting more than touch the tip of the ice-berg, one year of change is nothing compared to what lies ahead and oh so much more has changed in the last year, but I think it would take all day to cover all of that!

School Zone Anyone?

School is in session. Actually, it has been in session here for almost three weeks. I drive by a middle school on my way to Baby-C's sitter's house each morning and had to relearn the concept behind school zones...after a few days of practicing, I now remember that I again have to decelerate to 20mph each morning regardless of if I overslept or my morning run was longer than usual. What really baffles me is the abundance of PARENTS who fly through the school zone before and after dropping their darlings off for the day. Aren't these the people who are supposed to care the most about why the school zone is there in the first place?

Day One

Well this blogging thing is new to me, but after reading many "momming" related blogs I am hooked. Hopefully this flies. A little background on me. I am a first time mom of one year, a native New Yorker (state) transplanted to Kansas, with a degree in Clinical Psychology that I am currently not using, an avid runner, home project doer, gardener, shopper extraordinaire.

I love being a mom and we are thinking of adding Baby-2 to our brood, giving Baby-C a sibling. The past year's mommy adventures have been fun, and I cannot begin to imagine the joy and more exciting adventures that await us as our family grows.

Let the fun begin!