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Another random catch-up of several things:

In mid-October we hired a contractor to create a flagstone patio in the backyard. He's been slower than expected but it looks great so far. We have the seating wall around a firepit that has a gas fireplate in it. I didn’t want to smell like a campfire. Also later on (when Allison is older and want to spend the money on it, we can switch the river rocks for the colorful glass stones). He still has to install a bubbling water rock, create a rock facade under the deck and replace the deck railing. And we're in talks on what kind of plants will surround this thing. I'm so worried about creating extra bed space that our bermuda grass will creep in and I'll never be able to control.

We had a football party on Nov 6 that was attended by several of our friends from many circles. We've tried to have parties over the last few years but it just seemed like not even half of the people invited came and it was not worth it. Well, it turns out that once you make a party kid friendly, everyone comes! There were 5 kids under 2 and then a few more of various ages. While it was fun it was a little hard to just hang out with friends. I think Allison enjoyed it but several times she was not so sure about these other kids playing in her room with all her toys :) The firepit was not done so we may have to have another party.

Around Nov 3 we took away Allison's pacifier (she was not quite 20 months old). She got one night with the nub cut off and after that, she never saw it. For the first few nights she woke up several times throughout the night and required our help getting back to sleep. That next weekend was the time change and she seemed to be fully awake by 4:30 am for several mornings. There were some rough spots in that 2 weeks but nowhere near as rough as we thought it'd be. Fingers crossed, she seems to be going back to normal on her sleep pattern - she gets to read books in our lap, then a few minutes of cuddle in the dark, usually wakes up when we put her in the crib, she cries, and within a minute of shutting the door she is laying down and quiet.

we got rid of our Iphone and switched to a droid on Verizon's network. So far the only thing I love about it is an indicator on the screen when I miss a call or text msg and the camera flash. I've had a few hiccups with buttons not working as they should. In particular I can’t hang up on calls. And that never happens when I call Jeff, it’ll be with a business call or total stranger. Their 3 minute voice message probably comes out as a muffled serious of clicks with ‘damnit hang up stupid phone’. Then I give up and shut off the phone and hand it to Jeff the first chance I get who just replies ‘must be user error, I’ve never had it happen’. Usually he is more helpful with all things electronic.

Allison experienced Chuck-e-cheese for the first time. She was terrified of the mouse. Guess we'll hold off on Disney for another year :)

Allison has pee-pee’d in the potty a few times. Mostly after seeing Kaylee (a 3 year old) do it. Daycare is not willing to work with her till she’s had a full weekend of doing this and #2 in the toilet at home, and also talking/communicating better. Our first problem is that even with a step stool in front of the toilet she can’t get on it with her booty far enough back. She doesn’t seem interested in the toilet on the floor besides shoving her dolls in it. I’ve heard there is a book about potty training in 3 days that I need to get. Maybe we’ll work on that over a Christmas holiday. In the meantime when she does go on the potty I turn myself in the most enthusiastic lunatic mommy I’ve ever seen and she gets stickers too. For the normal times that she’s fighting us for diaper changes she gets a bribe of 2 M&Ms. We’ll see how long that works for.

We had a fun photoshoot last weekend at a park downtown. I wish I had been better prepared and tried on her outfits first. My top 2 choices did not fit her and after getting those on and off everyone in the house was just about crying and screaming. Did I say Allison hates to get dressed – yes that’s an understatement. Hopefully we’ll have some more cute ones at Thanksgiving with her baby cousin James.

And I know Jeff doesn’t contribute to this blog but if he did he’d probably write something about Auburn football being #2 in the country. They are having a great season being undefeated. One more game to go against the big rival and then hopefully we should be SEC champs and play for the National Championship (which the University of Alabama won last year)

I know I’m getting terrible about blogging and keeping up with people but what can I say, life gets in the way. So here are some random updates. We now have a Dr. in the family. Little brother Jim finished his PhD in biology from UAB. I think it’s neuro-biology but I’m not sure. Whenever he tells me about his work the words miss my brain and just fly over my (yes, blond) hair. He’ll be moving to Baltimore to do his post-doc at John Hopkins. We’re very proud of him but sad to see him move so far, but it sounds like an amazing opportunity.

Finally with the last week of September fall temperatures have arrived. I feel like half the summer was trapped inside because the temperature or heat index was over 100. Recently I took Allison to Monte Sano park so I could check out the art show, but there was something in it for her, she saw the biggest playground ever. She loved it. Another reason I’m so thankful for fall temps. We have a swing set on order and hope it comes next week so Allison can get a little time on it before winter hits.

We’ve met with 3 landscape contractors about putting in a flagstone patio. All three were different with contradicting ideas, but none offered me a drawing. Somehow my art background and schooling has not over-ridden my horrible green thumb and hatred of yard work so I have been incapable of drawing what I think I want. I have also made an appt with a landscape designer to get a plan going. I’m so visual I really need a drawing in front of me before I shell out thousands of dollars for this project.

On the Allison front we have definitely entered the up and down, happy and screaming world of the toddler. It’s so strange for someone to be able to giggle and cry out in frustration in practically the same breath. Luckily that innate thing about being a parent makes you have stronger memories of the cute sound of giggles rather than the little fits and body slamming the floor. She has also taken more interest in the TV lately. Disney has a show called Little Einsteins and she’ll really get into the part where they ask you to pat your lap and raise your arms and scream blast off. It’s really cute. Jeff even saw her on the baby monitor sitting down in her crib patting her lap. And no, she does not have a TV in her room :) I guess she was just dreaming about it.

Here are a couple images from the Botanical Gardens last weekend. She loved all the butterflies and yes that one stayed on my head for over a minute.

This morning we whisked Allison from her bed at 6am to take her the surgery center. She was the ENT's first patient today for a procedure taking all of 5 minutes to put tubes in her ears. She's had 5 ear infections since December and I was ready to find a fix. I'm really hoping for an easier winter where she can recover from viruses much easier. Anyway, she was a champ, barely cried till they took her away. Not even 30 minutes later she was back with us and really showing us the tears and screams, but that just lasted about 5-10 minutes. They just gave her gas, no IV or breathing tube. Knowing that made our decision easier. She was eating and drinking fine when we got home and so far so good. The tubes are supposed to fall out on their own in about a year. About 1 in 100 do not, and the dr has to go back and remove them.

After coming home from the weeklong fun Florida trip, we had a weekend to ourselves before Jeff and I split up and ventured out for our own weekends. His parents came over Wednesday night to watch Allison while Jeff got in car to drive to Nashville and I got on a plane to go to Portland, Oregon. Jeff had work training mixed in with eating (they drove to Kentucky one night just for a steak). The main purpose of my visit was to see my aunt one last time before lung cancer takes her away. I also had a happy side trip to visit my friends Linda and Miles who moved out there a few years ago and now have a cute cottage with an orchard and garden surrounded by beautiful wineries and only a short drive to the coast. All of which I checked out. My aunt’s doctors said that this summer would be her best months and they must be right because she was almost normal to me. The hair was much shorter and she carried an oxygen tank and walked slower but otherwise she seemed pretty good, or was a good actress for my benefit. We went to Portland’s weekly Saturday Artist market downtown and I was in heaven. They had more artists than our annual art festival does. We had lunch in Chinatown and then drove around and she showed me the cemetery where her boys and my mom are. That night her granddaughter came over for dinner. She’s 18 now and I think she was 7 the last time I saw her. We went through some old photos and somehow my aunt stayed strong through all that. Not sure how. The next morning (after a quick trip to Ikea) I got on a plane with all kinds of unspoken words going through my head not sure how to make them come out of my mouth. Yes, I know I have a problem uncommon to most women, I don’t know how to verbally express all my emotions :) Overall it was a happy trip, definitely glad I went, not just for getting to see family and friends, but I’m thankful the opportunity to take a sanity break for myself and have a break from motherhood duties.





Last weekend Jeff and I went our separate ways again – he went on a canoe/camping trip with 26 guys and I took Allison for her first weekend with the margarita ladies to Tonya’s lake house. Jeff told me about paddling fast in the middle of a lightning storm, but left out plenty of details for what the guys talked about after countless beers sitting around the fire. Ha – I don’t want to know. Allison got to swim in the lake and went on a skiboat ride which she stayed mellow enough for that I wasn’t sure if she was having a good time or just terrified she fall out if she moved. I’m very envious of Tonya’s big house with the beautiful view (best view I’ve seen on Smith Lake); she’s just another example of what I want to have in retirement or well before :)

We just back from my first big family vacation together. My parents, brother and sisters family all gathered in one 3 story house for an entire week. Considering that several people in the house were practically strangers and there were no big blow up fights or broken property, I’m calling it a huge success. Seriously though I think a fun time was had by all and I’m so glad we all came together for it.

Our beach house was in Blue Mountain Beach, about 15 miles east of Destin, FL. We were all very anxious to see what the beaches were like, and luckily our beaches were oil free (from our sight anyway). The green slimy algae was smothering the water and anything in it though. Our house had its own pool though which was a big hit with the kids. I really can’t imagine what we would have done without a pool or if an adult had to go walk to the community pool constantly with the kids. I think the only down side of things may have been the stairs. Did I mention it was a 3 story house, plus more stairs if you wanted to go to the rooftop deck. I’m sure several people are feeling the effects of climbing stairs by today. I did like Ronnie’s saying one time when a kid asked for something: “no way can you get me to climb those stairs even if there is a pot of gold down there”.

Jeff brought a brisket we ate on for a couple meals and then several more trips to the grocery store were made. And damnit if my brother didn’t scar me for life, I’ll always think twice before pronouncing Publix again. When I think of that name I see their usual sign in lime green letters but with curly black hair on it. I even went into Walmart twice on my better judgement. So much food was both eaten and thrown away and I really do feel guilty for not recycling all week. We certainly gave that garbage man an extra workout. Jeff and I tried going out to eat with Allison twice during the trip and both times were nightmares. She will not sit still in a highchair for more than 10 minutes now. We got away for a date night once and ate at Tommy Bahama’s restaurant where I had the best crab cake ever – thanks to the sweet spicy sauce it was on.

Wednesday we booked a cruise to Shell Island leaving out of Panama City Beach. LK’s bunch had us all nervous but finally got there with no time left to spare. Since it said we’d only be on the beach for one hour, most of us didn’t wear swimsuits which we regretted since the water was crystal clear and so much nicer than Destin. I think the boat tour before us took all the shells though. On the way back we found dolphins. It was definitely fun and a little cheesy with the Giligans Island song running in the background… 3 hour tour…

The guys made it out fishing one night, but just on a pier since deep sea fishing charters were near impossible to find. Friday the kids and adult guys hit the race track and gocarts. And there were a few shopping trips, one where Courtnay got a bright green tshirt saying FUBP, showing an oil slicked bird. LK, Courtnay and I did make it to the ‘outlet’ stores, but calling them outlet was a joke. Prices were just as high as their regular store counterparts.

Most of the time was spent being lazy, talking, kids playing cards or swimming, wandering the beach, or a few people sitting on the deck smoking. That was fine because when it did come time for all of us to leave, it turned crazy, trying to figure out what time to leave, which cars, etc. A few times it seemed like we’d be talking and poof there went one family gone. Friday morning LK wanted to get family photos on the beach and they did manage to get out there with David’s bunch and get a few good ones (except the boys left their sunglasses on!). I wanted to be there, but in the heat of things people running around, I had no idea if/when they were leaving, it was just impossible to figure it out with people moving and talking as fast as they did.

I think the kids were only shy for a day or so and by mid week the teasing had started. Alan and Matthew teased Kasey and Ronnie about saying ‘say’ instead of ‘hey/did you hear me’ when a person hasn’t answered a question yet. And I think Kasey and Alan were picking out the ugliest people on the boat ride to pair the other up with. Even Cody’s shy shell may have been cracked – just a little bit.

I’m looking forward to doing this again next year hopefully.
Full set of pics in the link above.

Addition - I forgot to write about our fearless Allison and the waves. The first time she sat in the sand she held up her dirty hands at me and frowned- obviously not liking being dirty (she does this at daycare too - little miss priss). The next time she was just fine once we started moving the sand and packing it in to shapes she could smoosh. Then Jeff took her in to the waves. They even got splashed by one and she just giggled. When he tried to take her back to the calm dry sand she ran right back towards the ocean. She even accidentally got dunked by a wave a couple times and it didn't make her cry or anything. Unfortunately I did not get video of this since I didn't want to get the camera wet.

I’ve probably written a few times about my gadget loving geek husband on here. Well this is our latest big purchase that I have enjoyed reaping the benefits of. I typically put the term geek in a very high regard – they are smart, like to figure out new things and can make money doing it. In addition to all that my husband loves to eat and thank goodness like to cook. So he’s been experimenting on a new platform and so far we both love it.

Last Christmas (or 2?) Jeff’s parents got him a smoker. He’s used it a few times and made a great boston butt and smoked chickens, but there was some trouble getting it hot enough in the winter. It was a great start though to realize we wanted the real deal. I say we, but Jeff did all the research. And since I don’t cook and he does – I’ll let that man buy most anything he wants to if he keeps cooking up delicious grub!

For the 4th of July weekend since we had a big group of family coming over I suggested Jeff get a brisket. I’m from Texas and that will always be my first choice for bbq. He found out that stores around here either don’t carry them, or don’t know how to cut it (they trim all the fat off). Luckily though Sams had one left – a 14.5 lb one. Haha. He made his own custom rub for seasoning. It turned out great and we got probably 20 servings or more from it. When we were done with it, he took it to work for more bragging rights. I’d say every other week at work the guys in his team come up with something new that involves food and turning it into a competition. I’m thinking this is Jeff’s favorite part of his job but you’ll have to ask him.

Soon I’ll add another true geek entry on how Jeff rigged up a security camera outside pointed at the temperature gauge on the Big Green Egg, that sends pictures to his computer at home, then from work he can log into his home computer and get the latest pictures to see the camera and temp.

A catch up on a few things in our house. Allison (who will be 16 months next week) had another ear infection and just finished those antibiotics. This one came just 6 weeks after the last one. No mention of going to an ENT but I do see it in her future. Over the last couple weeks we’ve skipped that last night time bottle a few times and others she just drank a couple ounces. I tried the sippy cup late last week at night and the next night she pushed away the bottle. So I packed them up! All bottles are gone. Yeah! Also on that front, I bought some vanilla soy milk Saturday and that’s all she’s had for milk. I’ve been told a few times that milk is not good when you are sick since it increases mucous. And another friend swears that our bodies are not made to digest milk, certainly not young toddlers. So we’ll try this soy since she seems to drink it without a fuss.

We had a houseful for July 4th. Jeff’s parents came up on Friday and soon after Jeff and I ran out of the house screaming… freedom. Just kidding. But it is nice that his parents are comfortable enough in our house that we can take off and let them be. We just went out and I had a delicious martini called the blue dolphin. We ate some food that was not memorable since I had a second martini and then we hung out at some friends house. It was a nice medium size crowd where I felt like I actually had conversations since I didn’t have to watch out after Allison. Wow, after re-reading that it sounds like I need more date nights, haha. Saturday afternoon when Greg, Claire, James and Jim got there, the ladies went off the Flying Monkey Arts center for the Saturday artist market. James is almost 2 months old and filled out and so much cuter. He looks more like Claire so I guess Greg knows how I feel, haha. Jim is still gathering up post doc offers so we’re not sure where he’ll be living in a few months.

We’ll be at the beach with my family in a couple weeks. I can’t wait. I think the last time my brother and sisters kids saw each other was at my wedding almost 5 years ago. And this will be the first time my sister meets Allison. I was so excited to get to show some of them the white sand on the Florida beaches but we may just get to look at it and not play in it. I’m still hearing mixed reports on how bad the oil is and where it’s washing up. We all decided to keep our plans since the rental house has its own pool. It’ll be a lot of fun and I can’t wait to have more memories with my own family since these group gatherings are few and far between.

Last weekend we made the 6+ hour drive up to Indiana - land of Jeff's cousins from his mom's side of the family. It's a small town where Jeff has about 15 cousins, many our age with kids. We stayed with cousin Jennifer in her new huge house. The basement was the kid zone and Allison was in heaven - kids her size, toys, doggies, etc. We spent the whole weekend there and everyone came to us. it was nice. haha. We were even able to spend a good portion of the time on the covered deck since the heat was not as suffocating as it is here right now. We plan to make it an annual summer trip so Allison will get to know her cousins (more than I could even dream about). Next summer will be grandma's 90th birthday so I'm sure there will be a big bash and good times. I'd write more but I think I've said plenty of good stuff from previous visits. Yes I'm still wondering where the black sheep is hidden in this perfectly nice and normal family and no I have not found it yet.
(photos are in my picasa gallery - link above)

Allison opened her first door yesterday. (She's been trying for a couple weeks now.) Jeff had gone in the bedroom and she took after him and cried when the door shut in her face. She kept reaching and finally moved the lever door knob the same time she pushed against the door. It swung open and she lost her balance, wobbled and luckily fell on her butt instead of face first. then she cried again. It was cute... and scary. Most of our doors in the house are about to require 2 hands to open. This could be a pain. I'll update in a few weeks.

There are a couple cute sprinkler videos on the youtube page. It was so hot yesterday the power kept flickering and finally went off for about an hour. Guess the power grid couldn't handle all the usage.

She has her 15 month appt today with shots :(

I know every kid is different and reaches milestones at different ages but it's been about 3 weeks since Allison started walking and I still want to keep her in a padded room. Yesterday she put mark #3 on her forehead, thank goodness the one between her eyes is gone or that would have been 4 marks forming a big speckled and scraped shadow across the top of her head. She still wants to hang on to a toy or cheerio container or whatever it is and keep walking and then she doesn't always have her hands free to break her fall. I thought I would get smart and try to remove the object from her hand but that just makes her head spin 180 degrees and pitch a screaming fit. So for now she's still in the learning process of falling and slamming her fingers into drawers and all that fun stuff.

The cute parts are when she claps for herself. For months now she's been on a tear to throw her sippy cup on the ground, so whenever she puts it back on the tray of course we get excited and clap our hands. Now she puts it down and claps for herself. She's also starting to show signs of having favorite books. We can go through all 40? books we have and many times she'll shake her head no and grab the book and throw it down and keep pointing till you get the right one. She is doing one more thing we are most excited about - showing signs needed for potty training. She'll come up to us and start trying to pull her shirt off when she has a poopy diaper. I guess I need to do some reading material and see what I have to work on and watch out for along those lines. We are still amazed at the sign language she uses. I think she confuses 'eat' and 'more' but those pretty much go for the same thing so it's working for us. Except the sign for more means cookie in her mind. haha.

Allison got her first taste of jealousy this weekend. Her grandparents have been at our house for a short time the past 3 weekends, so there is a strong connection to Mimi and Grandpa. Then Sunday when Greg and Claire came with baby James, Allison had to share her Mimi and the look on her face when she was holding another baby was priceless. She really didn't know what to think. She didn't pitch a fit, but there was just a look of confusion and bewilderment. It's so amazing to look at your child and see them grow and develop within just in a few seconds of a stare. It was just one of those precious moments to be looking at a 2 week old baby remembering your child was that tiny bundle that could barely move or communicate and now she's probably forming all kinds of brain connectors generating complex emotions of confusion and jealousy. This part of parenthood is becoming more fun. I really don't miss that newborn stage.

We all learned something this morning - I FREAK OUT when I see blood on my child. The first time it happened was when her umbilical cord fell off but she was only 6 days old and I was freaking out about everything at that stage. This morning Jeff had the lovely awakening at 5 am of me practically kicking in the bedroom door screaming get up, Allison's bleeding. I didn't wait for him to reach me, for some crazy reason I ran back to her bedroom with her in my arms I guess because that is where the only light was on so we could see. (Nothing makes much sense at 5am to me) Looking back now this was totally cruel to him because he had another few seconds to wait to see where the blood was. It was all over her mouth and drooling down her chin by that point. We got a washcloth, sippy cup and flashlight but couldn't really figure out where it came from. Guess I should clarify that Jeff got the washcloth, sippy cup and flashlight - I was in a frozen state almost crying myself holding on to her. I'm sure this whole scene description is common for first time parents and one that second time parents would laugh at. She does have a top molar only partially broken through so I'm guess that's all it was. She ate some breakfast just fine. And we sent her off to school. She may have a fussy day from getting up so early.

Today I had about 5 minutes of a life I had forgotten so long ago - a life where I could hear someone talking even with their back to me. A life where I could hear the A/C vent. It sounded like the ocean off in the distance. A life where maybe I wouldn't have to ask WHAT five times in a row. A life where maybe I could hear that story my father-in-law says for the 8th time in his very low tone voice. But that was all I got to experience before the audiologist removed the demo hearing aid. Now I have to decide if it's worth it to spend $3200 on. (yep my mouth feel open too) For the record, the audiologist first had me try a mid-range cheaper one, but that one sounded like I was talking in a microphone with a constant echo; didn't feel natural. I was really impressed with how small the behind the ear ones are. I pulled my hair back in a pony tail, loosened it slightly and you couldn't even see it! Well if you look close you'll see the clear tube that goes down to the ear canal, but you have to be looking.
Before I decide to spend that much dough, I'll bug the HR representative at my husbands company a few more times on trying to get the insurance plan to change to accept hearing aids. If anyone has a suggestion for battling them or Blue Cross Blue Shield I'm all ears. ha!
There is always the option to wait a half year and sign up for a flex spending account so we get a bit of a tax break next year. But that means waiting. And I've felt the sensation of full hearing again and I want it now, not in 7 months. And no telling if I'll even be at this job next year. And if I'm unemployed then it'd really be hard to justify that money. damn, sounds like I'm making a convincing argument so far. I'll keep you posted.

Jeff's twin brother and his wife welcomed James Redding into the world today. I think I've said this before but it really is exciting when your family starts growing. I could have never imagined I'd marry into such a wonderful family, and then to have a sister-in-law I have so much in common with just adds to it. I'm excited we'll get to share so many of our kids memories together. Allison and James are 14 months apart, and I hope they will grow up to be great friends.

Saturday we went to a friend's party for their little girl, Amelia, who turned 1. Allison was her usual happy self. I had to laugh at Amelia, a few times when everyone was fussing over her, staring and ooohing and awwing, she'd start crying. I remember the same type of reaction from Allison at her own party but she didn't get quite as worked up as Amelia. I'm hoping these two will be good friends in the future. Since they are both daycare babies, and all 4 parents work full time, getting together for playdates hasn't happened. Sucks how life just gets in the way of playing sometimes!



This party is also where Allison walked her first steps. She must have known that Amelia was walking before her and was younger and felt like she had something to prove. Just kidding - we'd seriously be in trouble if she were that smart with that kind of attitude this early!

This morning was a late morning for all of us. I had my follow up to see if my ear drum healed (it did- but I'm still practically deaf and yes it's close to causing fights of mis-communication and tears from me about getting a hearing aid before my 34th birthday but that is a long drawn out rant I don't want to get into). Allison had green gunk in her eyes on Sunday so we were afraid it was pink eye, so her appt was 9am. wow, long story to say we were both home this morning when she decided to take off walking again. back and forth. it was so cute! She took a brake for most of the remainder of the day to play sick kid - yep ear infection and conjunctivitis, but then she started walking again tonight.

Allison has been fascinated with little seats lately so I ordered her own chair. Ofcourse I got purple. It doesn't match anything but I like the color. It's a P'kolino Little Reader Chair. She's not the best about holding her own books, but she does love her own little chair. There was pure fascination about climbing all over a new item.

I've been following the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill news closely lately for a couple reasons. Our Florida beach vacation is only a couple months away and it's hitting close to home. I'm always saddened by news destroying the environment and animals and this is a big one. I still cut up coke rings so the circles won't get stuck on birds still growing and suffocate them. But I can't do anything about a bird getting coated with oil and no longer able to fly. How many years has there been drilling in the ocean and how many spills have happened, and we still seem far behind on the technology to clean it up. I know the large oil companies have huge profits but I wonder how much of their budget goes to researching cleaning up technologies if any at all. 5,000 barrels a day (thats 210,000 gallons a day) [as of 5/14/10 - some Purdue Univ. experts watched video of the gusher and they estimated 70,000 barrels a day] are spilling out of that leak and their little underwater robots have failed to find it. I think I read where they had never been tested at depths of anything close to what they were being used at. I could go on a rant, but I'll save that talk for the experts. What I do have experience in is growing up near and visiting beaches where baby oil was a staple for the beach bag. Not baby oil for suntanning purposes, but to get the black tar off your feet. Yes, you go swim out in the ocean and come back to play in the beach sand and everywhere you have to avoid chunks of black sticky tar. It was gross! The only thing that would get it off your skin is baby oil or gasoline (yep, we used that too - yuck). Ofcourse I was a naive innocent kid that didn't pay attention to news so I don't remember hearing about this, but this MSNBC article mentioned a 1979 spill in the Gulf that released 140 million gallons of oil to Mexico and Texas shores. I saw those effects through the 80s at all the Texan beaches I grew up visiting several times a summer. Now that I live closer to the pristine white sandy beaches of the Florida panhandle I really hope those don't get contaminated and filled with tar chunks.

I realized I haven't blogged much lately, so here is a bunch of stuff jumbled into one entry. The pollen hit our area heavier than normal so there have been plenty of grumpy, congested people including myself. Allison got some kind of virus that included a full body rash that freaked us out. But as the Dr put it, "the good thing about rashes is that you know right away if it's a bad one and this one is not one of the bad ones". It did require 3 days out of daycare. I really don't understand how stay-at-home moms do it. I run out of entertainment for her, and I can't exactly take her out much since she's contagious. She does LOVE the outdoors, so I propped up and umbrella and we sat on a blanket in the grass for nearly half an hour and did a few stroller rides around the neighborhood.

She's getting better at walking, but still requires assistance. I can say "walk" and on cue she'll raise her arms up so I grab them with her hands around a finger on each hand and we take off around the house, usually in search of a kitty. Jeff and I have tried sitting a few feet apart and coaxed her to walk over, and she'll get excited and usually just lunge instead of walking, but she keeps trying so that's good. For a couple weeks now we'll watch her playing or cruising along a wall and she'll let go and stand balancing but it doesn't last more than a few seconds. She does that on her own, no coaxing from us, so we know she wants to learn :)

I caught her virus and had a fever (but no rash) this weekend. Jeff had to do all the parenting while I shivered and slept the day away in the bed. By Sunday afternoon the pain was in my ears and a few hours later I was crying, the boo-hoo sobbing that is uncontrollable. I haven't had an ear perforation in nearly 15 years so I texted my sister (who had one a few months ago) and asked if there was anything to do to relieve the pain. She said no, she had taken a loratab and it didn't touch her pain - said she'd rather go through labor than an ear perforation. Naturally I had to show Jeff that message, as if it's proof to have someone elses word that I was in pain, since sometimes I wonder if he questions my threshold for pain. He would never say it out loud (he's too smart for that) but you know sometimes when you think you can read someones mind. I've never been able to turn those tables because I've heard his story where he broke a tooth and had the root hanging down, exposed to air - for days! like it was no big thing. He's not a baby at all when he's sick, and yes, I'm so grateful for that. But it is a little frustrating that he never shows pain. I can think of at least 4 big events that left me in screams and/or tears since we've known each other (natural child labor, back pain, breastfeeding and ear problems), nothing for him. Seriously, I'm trying to remember one thing for him and I can't. I have mixed emotions of jealousy and admiration. Guess I'll just count my lucky starts I married a tough healthy man!
So to finish my story, I had managed to stop crying for a minute and came into the kitchen, heard an airplane in my head, said something to Jeff about it who looked at me like I was crazy and then I smiled. My ear started opening up and draining and the pain was gone. Relief.

We finished dinner and packed up Allison to catch the last couple hours of the Panoply Arts festival downtown. (hey, it was big outdoor entertainment!) She had a good time. Especially in Kaylee's wagon. She's fascinated with chairs her size right now. She has a step stool for the bathroom that is in her bedroom because she'll just climb and sit all over that thing. When we travel and leave her booster seat on the floor, she loves that. She loves to climb in our lap if we're sitting indian style on the floor. And now I see she loves that little red wagon that had a fold down seat built in it. I think her Mimi bought her some kind of kid rocker, so I'm curious what she'll think of that.

Jeff’s parents have gotten on a rotation to visit once a month and pick the weekend that she’s sick – because yes she seems to get sick every freakin month. This time we think her ear infection came back. She was on regular amoxicillin towards the end of March so this time she got the stronger stuff. I stayed home with her Thursday and Jeff’s parents left early in the morning and arrived Friday so we didn’t have to take off work again. Motrin is great – she’s definitely a happy baby when that stuff kicks in. Jeff’s mom took this photo and it just cracked me up. Allison is trying to walk all over the place but still needs help, so they took her walker toy outside. Our cat Ginger has been banished to live outside now and anytime we’re out there, she’ll just follow us around the yard. Looks like it was good entertainment for all.

We’ve introduced Allison to whole (organic) milk. I can already see some people rolling their eyes at the word organic, but it’s one small easy thing I can do to try to counteract some of the other crud she’ll get from foods. And I could go off on a rant at how I believe all the hormones and antibiotics in chickens are what’s causing my friends 8 and 9 year old little girls to wear A and B cup size bras but it could be a long rant. So anyway, a few things in our house are organic, and Target sells it making it easily available. Up until a few weeks ago Allison had only had water out of sippy cup and formula milk from a bottle. She would chug both, but doesn’t seem to chug milk from the sippy cup now. I’m not sure why. She seems to like it ok. And we’ve gradually mixed part milk and formula together and even warmed it up a little. So anyway, we’re still working on that. For the most part, she just gets one actual bottle at night time just before bed.

On the solid food front, let me tell you, that girl can eat! Jeff made some Italian meat loaf a couple nights ago and mashed potatoes and Allison ate a slice and half, with a big scoop of mashed potatoes and green beans. (It was the same amount of food that I ate!) And then she followed it up with a 7 oz bottle an hour later. She doesn’t seem to like potatoes in baked or fried or hashbrown form, but likes them mashed with butter and milk. She’ll eat green beans straight from the can, but not frozen reheated ones, and doesn’t care for other beans or carrots (frozen or canned). She didn’t like baked chicken one night, but the next night when we mixed the leftovers with cream of mushroom soup she ate it right up. She’s eaten every kind of bread and pasta we’ve given her and especially likes tortellini. I have not been successful with getting her to eat many fruits though.
I’ve been told she’ll eat most everything at daycare so maybe it’s just peer pressure there. Who knows. It’s so cute to see the kids eating at daycare. They have a table that is maybe 18” off the ground and miniature chairs where the kids all sit down at the same time, patiently waiting for food and look like civilized shrunken adults. Till a kid screams because they want their cookie now and it’s back to reality!

We’re both still a little surprised at how she’s smaller than we thought she’d be. And not that I want to comparing her to others, but all our friends with babies seem to be ranking above the 75% or off the charts. I ran into another friend on Sunday with a 6 month old boy that weighed 20 lbs (1 lb less than Allison at 12 months). And I can’t wait to get up to Indiana to see cousin Jerod who is 4 months younger and already bigger. Though in that case it’s expected with a 6’ tall mom and 6’5”+ dad. Then I think how Jeff started out at 3 lbs and I was a 6 lb baby and we both certainly sprouted up later, so it’s coming. I’m ok with her being small and manageable right now.

I took Allison over to my friend Dana's house (of Sunshine Images) for her 1 year photos. To me photoshoots are still a little stressful, so having a friend do it easier. (maybe not for her though :) Allison definitely has some stranger anxiety now and cries when I walk out of sight but she did pretty good - for maybe 30 minutes. I was hoping she'd be on the toddler schedule they started the week before, where they just get one nap. Instead she was completely wiped out for the weekend (and her daddy can play pretty hard with her keeping her laughing for a long time). So our tentative 1pm appt was not the best time when she woke up from nap #1 at 10:30 am and was ready for another one by 2. I think there will be several photos where Allison has a look on her face like what is this lady trying to do. Very similar to her party photos where she had to have been wondering why all these people were staring at her :)
The other benefit from having a friend take the photos - instant gratification! Check out this teaser. I'll have to wait like a good customer for the rest of the photos though.
(photo trouble on picasa... hopefully this will load soon)


And check out the video link above this entry for a recent example of Allison playing with her daddy.

Allison has moved to the front half of her classroom with the kids ages 12-18 months. Some changes are that she eats at the same time with all 7 other kids at this miniature table, she’ll get one nap on a foam bed on the floor, she gets outside playtime (or in the gym when it’s raining) twice a day and there are lots more toys. And they no longer give her bottles. Since she’s still on a milk/formula mix, they just put that in her sippy cup. Her first primary care-giver is still in the room just other side, and Allison was so spoiled that she’s still having withdrawals and will cry out when she sees her. I guess that’s good and bad :)

Last week when I was holding Allison on the new side and talking to her new teacher, Allison and another boy kept reaching out to each other and smiling. Mrs. T told me that’s her boyfriend and she’s happy to see him since it’s been about 2 weeks when Chase moved to the other side of the classroom. So that was my warning. Yesterday when I went to pick Allison up I was early (for her dr appt) and the kids were at the playground. Soon enough they were coming down the hall. It’s so funny – they have a 6-seater stroller complete with red and white striped canvas top that looks like it belongs at a circus. Since there are 8 kids in the class, 2 get transported in a crib on wheels. Who was in that crib… Allison and Chase. I had caught my baby in bed with her first boyfriend! Normally she smiles when I come get her, but this time, no reaction. I picked her up out of the crib and she started crying and Chase was sticking his arm out again trying to grab her. All I can say is that she has good taste – Chase is the cutest boy in the class. Hehe.

Her 12 month appt was yesterday where she got 4 shots and finger prick to test for anemia. She is 21 lbs and 29 ¼ inches which are both about 50th percentile. Her head size is leveling off but still huge at 90%. I wondered if she remembered that place because as soon as she left our arms the screams started. She calmed down soon enough and now we typically keep her on Tylenol for 24 hours after shots. I mentioned her not sleeping well the past 2 weeks, which was the same time we started milk and she was congested. Both ears were red and fluid behind one, so she’s back on antibiotics. I hope the regular Amoxicillin kicks it so we don’t have to have the stronger stuff that causes atrocious diapers. The dr also told us that starting at 12 months some kids start dreaming and getting nightmares, and it’s best to not pick them up! Just go into their room tell them it’s ok and not pick them up or feed them which would just reinforce that behavior. I’ve tried the cry it out a few times and it’s hard! Jeff and I are still alternating nights of who gets the baby monitor, so we get decent sleep every other night. This keeps the mis-communication and mumbling turning to yelling down in the middle of the night trying to figure out who’s going to get her. I often wonder how most parents deal with that.

After the previous weekend’s disaster and the small family party falling through, I emailed a couple friends to see if they’d want to come celebrate Allison’s birthday with us. When they said yes, I figured we had to invite the rest of the friends. I think we ended up with about 20 people there, a few being kids. Jeff and I were worried since Allison just had one nap and she was getting fussy about 3pm, but when people came over she was just mesmerized and checking everything out. I baked cupcakes and made a bigger 4” double layer cake for her with some star sprinkles on it. When we set her in the highchair with hat she screamed, but once the hat was removed a few silly faces from daddy she was ok and back to wondering why all these people were looking at her :) She was dainty at first, just picking off the stars, so we had to help her get a little messy. The sugar kicked in about an hour later and she was all screams and giggles and loved having new people to play with. My friends Trevor and Jenny were there with their 10 month old girl Amelia, who is a little bigger than Allison and even willing to show Allison to walk with assistance. (Allison wasn’t interested in trying though). My friend Janet brought her granddaughter who is 20 months and then the other kids were a 4 year old girl (Jeff’s boss’s daughter) and the Vader kids and JE who automatically go up to the pool/ping pong table upon arrival at our house. So, to my sister – we had a house full of adults, 2 babies, a toddler, a 4 year old, two 9 year old boys and a 11 year old girl. You can’t tell me you’re still scared to bring your kids over to my house now can you?!

Jeff started the smoker late Friday night and left the Boston butts going all night. Then he smoked 2 chickens Saturday. I’ve never been a fan of shredded pork bbq, but the stuff this weekend was wonderful. I love being married to a good cook :)

The party was fun, and I think people had a good time. I think they were like me, glad to finally get back to the land of the living after a long dreary winter. These are the friends that I’m used to seeing every couple weeks at Keith and Angie’s house during the summer, only we hadn’t seen each other since new years and maybe Halloween before that. I had been going into withdrawals, so I was glad to see everyone again. In the invitation I sent out I tried to stress that gifts weren’t needed since this whole thing was thrown together in a matter of days, but ofcourse the good friends that they are brought gifts. Allison got some really cute toys and books and even some red converse. I can’t wait till she grows into them, I’ll get a picture of us and me with my red All Stars. I think it was soon after the gifts were open and different noises were radiating from a few toys and new birdies on wheels were getting rolled all across the room and 2 other kids were playing with her new huge house, that the sugar kicked in. Allison showed off her ear piercing squeals and a had a good time going back and forth mainly between Cheri and Erin. I think Erin is about 11 and starting to get groomed to be a great babysitter :)

Sometime during the night I realized it’s not always so much fun to the be the hostess. When I have a lot going on, I tend to forget plenty of things I had intended to do, like… to introduce people, tell people where the drinks are, to pull out the mac n cheese from the oven, oh yeah and to participate in conversations. Time just flew by too quickly. Kind of like this whole first year with Allison :)

I have survived the first year with a baby! This is monumental people! Yes I was that lady that had never grown up around babies and was clueless with most everything baby related who decided to go ahead and procreate at age 32. And one year later I can say that I'm no longer terrified of my child's screams, life has some rhythm to it, and I'm not quite so clueless or tired.

Yes the year has had many ups and downs and as much as I've let my emotions get overshadowed by sickness (thanks to all the daycare germs) that sickness has not been major so I guess the downs were really not that bad. Am I typing that? No, all I've wanted to do was scream at the top of my lungs for the last few months at that daycare for keeping my family sick. But in the grand scheme of things, she hasn't seen the hospital since she left it and she's still growing and happy so that should count for more. Did I say happy - yes I mean happy, who knew a kid could smile and laugh so much! Man, have we been blessed in that regard. I do have to agree with most of those people that give you advice when you're pregnant, as much as having a child changes life to becomes hectic and chaotic, all her smiles and giggles have made it worth it.

Along those lines of wondering if I'll ever have a kid, I do remember saying I wanted one just to see what s/he would look like. Well I'm still looking for some resemblance of me in Allison. So far the brown hair, brown eyes, short legs and small feet are nothing like me. It's a little disconcerting to think I carried this being inside me and it's practically a replica of the other half. Thank goodness I picked a good looking, smart sperm donor :) Ok, I'll give more credit - that sperm donor has also made a better father than I could have imagined.

Here are some of Allison's Milestones and other interesting points:
* Is pulling up to standing, though not officially cruising around furniture
* Still is a wonderful eater. Loves green beans! And most anything her mommy or daddy are eating
* Will point and say "Kah" at the cats.
* Doesnt stack blocks, but will for sure knock yours down
* Has 2 bottom teeth in, 2 top ones have broken through
* Has a little bit of hair, enough to stick straight up in the back/top/middle
* Will giggle when her daddy crawls around in a circle like a dog chasing his tail
* Has learned the fake cry for attention - this is complete with a scrunched up face and open mouth that makes you laugh
* Started some high pitched ear curling screams of excitement
* Opens the kitchen cabinets and drawers that are within reach
* Sleeps on her tummy with butt up in the air
* Is very good at peak-a-boo
* Waves bye-bye

Fair warning, I think this is going to come out sounding like a pitiful sob story on my part, but oh well, because I did cry about it.
Back in December, we planned a fun get-a-way weekend to go up to Franklin, Tn (outside of Nashville) and the four of us were going to take a cooking class at night and Claire and I would go shopping during the day. Before leaving we were going to celebrate Allison’s 1st birthday a little early with a small family party. The cooking class was really a Christmas gift for Jeff and Greg, but his parents were generous enough to give it to the four of us, so we signed up for the romantic date night dinner. Skip ahead a couple months, lots of dr visits, sickness, missed work, probably 28 snow days, winter blues setting in, and then comes the prospect of Spring and a night away. Oh how I was looking forward to it! Really, I’m not the type of person that shows a lot of emotion, but the thought of a night away and morning off had me close to jumping up and down like a 6 year old kid opening up presents. Doom is about to happen – can you feel it… The night before Jeff’s parents arrive Allison throws up (we just had the warning on the class door about the virus the day before). Sure enough Friday it’s progressed to diarrhea. Friday afternoon Jeff’s parents parents arrive, but Greg and pregnant Claire wisely decide to skip over Huntsville and go straight to Franklin. Saturday morning, I get sick. I was hopeful that Immodium would kick in and maybe I could make it, but it just got worse. Seemed like it was 1000% times worse than Allison. How had she remained a relatively happy just tired baby while exploding out of so many diapers? I was curled up on the bed wincing from the cramps or the head rush from the mad dashes to the toilet. So at 9:30 am, it was decided (not sure who decided this) that Jeff’s dad would go with him. The class and hotel were already paid for. I will say the look on Jeff’s face was full of sympathy when he went to tell me bye and I’m sobbing on the bed ready to die.

The 4 of them met up for lunch, and then I think went to an Irish Pub, and then relaxed in the hotel before the class. Poor Claire was part of a dude’s weekend. Karen and Bruce had planned to explore Huntsville some more so that part of their weekend was ruined. I apologized and thanked the most wonderful grandma I now know for having to take care of sick Allison and the awful diapers, but she seemed ok just getting the baby time in. (There really must be something to that grandmotherly love that is indescribable till you have a one.) And Sunday the boys got back and Jeff was showing symptoms. But wait, his seemed even milder than Allisons. What the hell?! How did I get the worst of it all.

So that’s the pitiful sob story. And thanks to facebook I know that SEVERAL friends have experienced that same damn virus in the last few weeks. Knowing that still doesn’t make me less angry that I missed out on the one thing I was looking forward to. Am I allowed to be a little selfish after having a kid? I’m sure this entry sure seems that way. I think I might have to poll my mommy friends on that question.

I’ve heard the stories about life with a baby will make your life revolve around poop, and that is just amplified when you get a stomach virus. In the last week our house has revolved around poop. Yuck! It’s just a long cycle of baby pooping too much, try to stop her up, yep that worked now when is she going to poop again, she’s in agony with stomach cramps. I need the magic formula that tells me how many bananas to feed her according to how many bad diapers :)
I need to look back on the calendar but I think it was just December we had the last stomach virus in the house. When is the germ-o-phobic society going to come up with a prevention for the spread of that damn virus.

A friend from work had a baby recently and wanted some art for her little girls room. So I went to one of the bottle and brush type of events/painting classes and instead of doing the same thing as everyone else, I painted this. The tree and birds is fairly similar to the bedding in Mary Collins room. I hope she enjoys it.

The finger-trigger wackos have come out in fury this February! First it was a 14 year old shooting another 14 year old dead in my former middle school. The following week it was a truly psycho teacher at UAH, where I went to college. That was followed with kids that probably thought a copy cat act would be funny and they could make the news because 2 more gun sightings put highschools on lock down. Last week there was a home invasion a couple miles from me where the guy was shot, then yesterday my neighbor was robbed at gunpoint. The UAH incident was a true tragedy, 3 professors were shot dead and another 2 wounded. The biology department is in pure turmoil and so many lives were affected. One of the saddest parts was that the damn woman (a Harvard educated female!) should have been taken to the loony bin a long time ago because she had already shot her brother and sent mail bombs. I know schools budgets are being cut all the time, but isn’t there some kind of background check that would have discovered that?! She probably just came across as one of the other hundreds of smart weirdos in this town. I was talking with a friend that works at UAH and has met the shooter Amy Bishop a few times, and she’s been asked several times – could you tell she was crazy? My friends reply (I love this), well she’s definitely odd, but odd and smart people are a dime a dozen in this town, how would you know when one of them is about to crack.

While all of this was in my town, the neighbor robbery yesterday shook me up the most. He lives diagonal across the street from us and I was home just minutes before it happened at 1pm. He was not harmed but the guy was not caught either. Too bad he did have a gun and not just a knife because my neighbor teaches martial arts and I know he would have fought back and the punk would have gone down and been in jail.
Upon finishing this I need to start researching alarm systems.

This weekend felt was the first time in months that it was above 50 and the sun was shining on a weekend day! It was sooo nice. Jeff was still a little sick on Saturday, but on Sunday we went to the Madison Indian Creek Greenway Park. It's been over a year since I've been when it was just a 3 mile paved walking trail. Now it's extended further (not sure how much) there is a big playground and fenced in dog park and a 20 hole disc golf course. We packed up Allison about 1pm and beat some of the church crowd, but by 3pm the parking lot was full and those poor neighbors practically had their driveways blocked from all the cars lining up the streets. Allison seemed to enjoy herself, she stayed awake the whole time (which would have normally been naptime) and we walked over to the dog park side so she could see the dogs. Whenever we made it to the swing though, I think she was wiped out, didn't really get a smile out of her.

Saturday I kicked the cats out. There is a long ongoing saga with Ginger who is at least 13 years old and is now going into renal failure according to the vet and hundreds of dollars in tests. Our cats have been indoors cats forever, and Des is much younger and came skiddish of everything. Ginger was ok outside for a bit, she found some sun and chilled out, but Des freaked when we put her on the grass. She just hid under the porch for a bit and then howled to get let back in. Later in the day Ginger was showing her pitiful side too. Ginger spent the night in the utility room and got thrown out again today. This is another reason I want winter to be gone for good. In a few days I'm going to feel really guilty for having Ginger outside when it's 40 degrees.

It's a good thing that I'm not a big romantic with high expectations for Valentines Day. Allison had a high fever Saturday and has not slept good since. I knew it was time for another virus because she made it 2 straight weeks in daycare. I took her to the dr today and she has blisters bleeding in the back of her throat. No wonder when she starts crying, nothing we do will calm her down. And there is nothing to treat this, just time and motrin to ease the pain. Tylenol does not seem to do anything. And Benedryl does not make her as sleepy as I was hoping. So she's almost her usual self every few hours when the motrin is working, then there are gaps where she's like a colicky baby, can't hold her and can't put her down. Times like this I get disgusted thinking we pay this place $11k a year to make her sick.

I can't describe how hard I laughed today at my first Valentines Day card from Allison. The cover was very cute, her foot prints in a heart with the words: "From my head to my toes... My love for you grows...
And then you open it up and this photo is glued on top of a paper doily heart.



I know this is daycare and the workers create these cards and I love it. I love getting a laugh at the background they created for this photo shoot that they stripped my kid down for. These are some brave ladies that give paint to lil babies, all in the name of art. Art that I'm torn on which pieces to keep. But this one.... this one made it on the blog, so it's out on the internet in forever land!

I guess I'm going to add this to my list of projects for a rainy day. I love this idea - lets just hope I get around to doing it.

Personalized ABC book using photos of your kid

I've added a few more parent-type blogs on my reader. From Parent Hacks
I learned some funny and genius parent hacks:

cut up old credit cards and put them in a dirty diaper

coat slimy foods with Cheerios dust to make it easier to grab

Help diaper pale smell with dryer sheets or coffee beans

Cut off socks to cover stinky/wet car seat straps (if in a bind while traveling)

Evidently pull ups are expensive, some parents give panty liners to their lil girls while potty training

use a crock pot as a humidifier

make nose-wiping fun by playing peek-a-boo and just patting (not wiping)

We had a nice short visit with with the Machamers in Birmingham. We were at the 4 week mark when Allison's Mimi goes crazy to see her, oh and it happened to be Jim's 29th birthday. Claire definitely had a baby bump showing and everyone seemed to be doing well. K&B didn't report much progress on the packing front but there is still time, so I didn't dwell on it :) Family gatherings always come with alot of food and this one was no exception. Mexican dinner where we found out Allison loves avocado and then a BBQ lunch. Now that elliptical Jeff and I ordered needs to get here in a hurry :)
Here are a couple pictures:

Claire showed off her sewing machine and she made Allison a birthday shirt. I love it.

If you're viewing this in a reader, go ahead and check out the real website and let me know what you think. I'll work on customizing it a little more later.

Since I'm not up for writing in complete sentences, here is what my week last week consisted of:

lots of baby time (Tuesday thru Sunday). oh wait I did go into work for a few hours Wednesday

Making my husband bring me lunch :)

hoping I remembered the correct order of which Tylenol or Motrin to give her in the middle of the night

watching Allison get her first qtip shoved up her nose for an RSV test (was negative)

Me twitch when I see her jump after I turn on the nebulizer machine

Several texts with my sister who I consider a mommy expert for breathing troubles

tons of cuddle time with a clingy baby (which is much easier to do when you know they don't feel good)

figuring out new things for Allison to play with

Letting her practically crawl into the kitchen island after she removed all the tupperware (pure heaven for her when she thinks she snagged something she wasn't supposed to get)

watching Allison shut her bedroom door endless times always as happy as the first

watching her close her fingers in a kitchen drawer and then leave them there while she cried (uh, need those brain cells to kick in soon so she'll move your hand out)

dreams of a vacation to anywhere (I'm still trying to figure out if Stacy was serious about London in May)

buying Allison a new LeapFrog puppy toy that sings and is programmable to say her name in the middle of songs

wondering when I'll get some sort of carpal tunnel from using my Iphone (it'd be worth it)

In an attempt to be happier and look on the bright side of things, this year I downloaded a journal app for my Iphone so I could keep a 'happy journal' where I write something in it every day that I'm happy or thankful for. I have not been the best with keeping up with it. I really do have so many things to be thankful for, but it keeps getting overshadowed by common colds, stomach bugs or little every day things life throws at you trying to rough you up. This weekend was the news that my aunt is diagnosed with lung cancer and given a prognosis of 10-12 months to live. This news comes just weeks after the 2 year mark of my mothers death from breast cancer. My aunt is the last living person on my mom's family line that I'm close to, so something about that makes it hit harder. I already know she's incredibly strong because of all the losses she's already had to deal with before her. I'd love to find a way to transfer some of that knowledge and insight on coping and living life to the fullest. For now I think I'm going to settle for re-reading the Last Lecturer.

On the homefront, Allison developed a scary cough this weekend. Looking back, she was on antibiotics over Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, so it is nearing the one month point to get sick again. Joy. I can see why so many moms stay at home when they have babies, but I really don't think I'm cut out for that. We had a scare that might be the case last week. NASA budget cuts are hitting my project hard. As of Friday my manager had money to keep me, but that status seems to change almost daily. It's hard to believe I've been at the same company for over 10 years. In past years they've been great about finding a new project to move me to when money or contracts change, but I'm not as confident this time. Jobs just don't seem as easy to come by in today's market. I've always kept my freelance business open for just such a case, but my peace of mind would rather have a steady paycheck and not have to deal with web-illiterate clients that drive me bonkers.

Last weekend I helped host a baby shower for my friends Joe and Sunny who are expecting a boy in February. I had a fun time and know the mom-to-be did. I've been storing up party ideas since this is one of 3 baby showers in a matter of months I'm involved in. When it was my turn I was so excited that I got a diaper cake, so I had to learn how to make them. The one I did for Kim at work was cute, but I wanted to try another style. Somehow I had all the right materials to create this piece of art. Yes I am bragging on myself. This is the cutest damn creation I've done in a long time. There was even a surprise inside - a bottle of sparkling juice. I didn't want to tease the mom with alcohol incase she couldn't drink it for while. The top piece is a frog hand puppet which worked great to cover up the top of the bottle. The sides are wrapped with receiving blankets and ribbon, and the extra decorations were actually intended to be cupcake toppers but got re-purposed.

This may be an inappropriate comparison to use, but I can't help it, it's just what was running through my head this morning.
You know in the early stages of new love where you are kissing and just can't get enough of each other, your heads are constantly moving, you gasp for breath, your eyes are rolling in the back of your head, your hands are all over the item in front of you, that kind of affection? Well I saw several similarities in Allison this morning as she was taking her bottle. It's like she can't get it fast enough, moving her head side to side and leaning forward, can't decide if she wants to hold it or just pull it out to get a breath and when she does then she'll let out a cry. And yes her eyes do roll back like it is pure ecstasy. It's adorable and scary at the same time. I think I just saw my daughters first love affair - with her bottle.

I read one of those cute parent stories that makes you want to be inspired but then somehow just leaves you feeling a little inadequate. This dad creates a unique lunch for his 5 year old son everyday to take to school. Usually a super hero or cartoon character, he's done Batman and Curious George, all made out of lunchmeat, veggies, or fruit. He was inspired by some Tibetan monks who created beautiful art that they knew would get destroyed. Oh yeah, and he says, to create something for his son to ease the shock of a new school that would be fun and a reminder of home. Seriously… I can't tell if I'm all warm and fuzzy after reading this article or just nauseated because now I want to think of something that special I can do for my kid. I hope his son really appreciates it one day. Anyway, here are the very impressive photos.

Ofcourse our biggest event of the year was bringing Allison into this world. She's already seen a few states: Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana and Texas. Those were all for family visits, so we hope to get back to fun travels next year. It was a great year for Jeff and I and our now family of 3. Allison is as close to the perfect baby as I can imagine. The first month was probably the hardest of my life but it was worth it. Jeff has a new job closer to home that he loves, I'm still with my job of 10 years now, we have money in the bank, lots of great family, and everyone is healthy (only the minor annoying colds that come with a baby in daycare). Needless to say coming up with a Christmas wish list was hard, what more could I ask for.