AND then...

It is an ear infection. Poor Peanut has an ear infection. Is it right to say I am happy that something is wrong with her? I stayed home with her after we went to the doctor. We took a nice nap together, then cleaned the house for Mr. T.

Also, we have been under dosing her on the Motrin, so hopefully, she will feel better at daycare and not bite any more kids. She has bitten 4 times, but on the good side it was at least 3 different kids. I am going to take the blame for some it because we play bite at home. I am not going to do that anymore.

When I was picking Peanut up from day care this morning, the lady that was watching her yesterday told me that Peanut had taken a blanket from another kid at nap time. She evidently scooted her crib over by standing up and rocking it until it reached the other kids crib. Then she reached in and grabbed the other kid's blanket. When the teacher came back into the room, Peanut had her blanket over her bum and the stolen one over her shoulders and head. The teacher said she was pretending to go to sleep, but I think she was just starting to get comfortable to nod off to sleep for real. She also said that peanut had moved the crib to the other side to see if she could get some toys. She had them all rounded up. The teacher said with pride, "She is too smart for her own good". (and to prove the point I have included a picture of her sitting in our recycling basket.)


Also today, peanut was showing off her Uh-Oh skills by dropping my keys on the ground and say uh-oh. But thing is, she was dropping them on purpose. It was still pretty funny though. I quit picking them up because I could see that it was becoming a game.

so hurray. Maybe tonight I will get to sleep.

Not so Happy Days.

There is a moto that says "If Moma ain't happy, ain't no one happy." I think what they really meant to say is "If the Baby ain't happy..."

Something is wrong. I don't know what it is, but something is wrong. She is waking up every 1.5 hours for the last 5 nights. No amount of Motrin will help her. I thought it was teeth, but she doesn't seem to be getting better. My friend said this morning that it might be that her stomach is upset from the Motrin, which is a possibility. Who KNOWS? Even during the day she has been giving me a lot of attitude. These teeth hurt worse than they really need to. I am taking her to the doctor today.

It seems that most of the time I have this wonderful happy child, but lately, she has been having these dark ravaging screaming fits. An example would be this morning. she was laughing and having a good time, but then I tried to put her into her high chair. Holy Cow. You would have thought I was slapping her. I checked her feet a couple of times to be sure they weren't twisted or something wasn't bothering her. Why would she be so upset to go into the high chair? After she took a big poo, she was much better, but still, she has never acted like that before. It seems like anything she doesn't want to do becomes a huge ordeal with screaming and an arching back.

Mom and Dad came down this weekend. It was fun for them to see Peanut because since the last time they have saw her, she was just getting steady on her feet. Now she is all over the place.

She is getting very good at using words. I think she is saying "babba" for her water cup. She has also master saying Daddy when she wants to get Mr. T's attention. I noticed yesterday that when we passed someone on the road she would say "Hi", which is a step up from saying "Hey" which is what we say around our house.

Yesterday we finally had a warm day, so I put the little one in the backpack and we went for a walk to the park. Along the way I let her down so she could walk and explore her world. She walked over to some woody weeds with seeds and picked them. I thought she would put it directly into her mouth, so I wasn't prepared for the look of surprise and the quick replacement of the twig top on the broken bottom. It looks like she is only prepared to destroy stuff in our house but not in the world at large.

Love Letter to a 13-month old

Dear Peanut,

Today you turned 13 months old. This last month has been so incredibly fun with you. It is hard to describe. Your walking has given you a new sense of confidence that I find both thrilling and scary all at the same time. You have become a master at climbing up stairs and going down slides on your own. The fact that my baby is turning into a little girl is apparent by your need to run and to explore.

Your favorite game right now is emptying baskets/bags/trashcans. Right now the waste basket in the kitchen is turned backwards and placed in the far corner of the kitchen. It isn't too convenient for throwing away trash, but it is pretty convenient for catching you before you drag pieces of chicken wrapping out onto the floor. Also, all of our gym and work bags have to remain zippered shut or we will end up searching for the contents of them in the morning.

Yesterday, your father called me and asked me not to be mad. He then launched into a story on how he changed your diaper and left you in your room for all of 30 seconds so he could get his coat on. When he returned you were holding an open diaper up in the air. Of course, there was the obvious, "My daughter is grasping a dirty diaper", but the real problem with the situation was that the poo that was once in the diaper was no where to be found. He smelled your hands and breath but they both seemed clean. After a minute or two of looking around he finally found it IN MY SHOE. YOU PUT POOP IN MY SHOE. Rest assured that story is getting told on your wedding day.

You are constantly looking for ways to challenge your new found mobility. The other day, when it snowed, we made a slide out of some cardboard and pulled the cushions off the couch. You climbed up the couch and slid down the "slide". When you tired of that you raced (because nothing is slow for you) over to your table with the toy bin in it, pulled the lid off and climbed inside. I generally don't mind you doing it, but you also managed to scoot it across the floor as you were trying to get into it. I was glad when it finally hit the wall as I didn't expect your first experience hopping on one foot was going to turn out too well.

Daycare is going really well. It is always nice to walk in and hear something special about you. "oh peanut says baby all the time" "Oh, peanut, she is the best eater. She eats vegetables." Surprise, a baby who eats vegetables. I guess it is because we give them to you often. I read a LOT about feeding, and I am so glad it worked (for now). It is one of the things that makes me the proudest. On the other hand, you keep trying to bite kids. Hopefully we found a solution by just pumping you full of Motrin. I guess we will see.

This month you also started saying "mom" with vigor. I love it. it makes my heart melt to see you hold out your hands and say mom. I love feeling your sticky little hands around my neck. It gives me the best feeling ever, but I guess that is to be expected from someone as exceptional as you.

I love you,
mum

i can't resist a quiz

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

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Take this quiz!

Sleeping Baby

Everyone loves a sleeping baby.

This was the first time I have seen her sleep in this position. I get a little worried sometimes when she is all the way on one end of the bed. In the dark, it takes me a minute to figure out where she is among the blankets and toys.

Sorry, no batman this time.

Liger Hunter

We went liger hunting today at the zoo. We didn't catch any.

We did see some monkeys, rhinos, and giraffes. We even got to see some monkeys being fed.

We didn't arrive at the zoo until 4:00. It closed at 4:30. I would have turned around, but I saw some teenagers standing at the window waiting to pay. I asked if we got in free because it is about to close. They said they didn't know, but the lady taking the money was talking to someone with her back turned to the window. So I just went in without paying.

I am naughty, but really, it is was only .5 hours.

It was fun. I am thinking about joining. I have a friend who goes pretty often, and it would be fun go with her and her kids. Plus, you get free admission to other zoos in the nation. If I travel very much for work, mom or Mr. T. can take peanut to the zoo.

And...(this is where I am going to get all granola munchy on you) our zoo isn't very good. They even lost their license to be a zoo a couple of years ago. They got it back in a year or two, but still, I would like to support them. I know zoos keep animals in cages and I know that is less than ideal, but they also do a lot of education and research into breeding and habitat. Plus, our zoo is the only one in Arkansas. Where else are all the redneck kids going to get to see monkeys and elephants?

Plus, I think they have after hours parties for zoo members. How much fun would that be!

Snow Day

We had a snow day on Thursday. It iced in the morning and was very cold the rest of the day. The real snow didn't come until the afternoon. We woke up Friday morning to a thin blanket of snow and work. Sigh... I hate Global Warming.

Peanut had an action packed week of mom and dad. Tuesday Mr. T. stayed home with her because they closed daycare due to a death of an employee. Thursday she got to hang out with her mom all day because there was ice on the roads for 2 hours.

We had a pretty uneventful week. Peanut is doing well at her new school. She consistently takes naps, which is something I was worried about. She has started crying when I leave her there. It doesn't bother me like I thought it would (callous, I know). I want to stay with her and make her happy again, but I know that I am going to walk right back out the door and all I am doing is making it worse. When I walk in to pick her up in the afternoon, she is usually so engrossed in what she is doing that someone has to point out that I am even there.

She has taken to dragging this old toy vacuum cleaner around the house. She doesn't really get how a vacuum works, so she just kind of totes it behind her. I think she likes the rattling noise it makes. My friend bought her a really nice wooden dog on wheels whose legs go up and down when it rolls. I am trying to get her interested in it. When I bring it out, she just kind of looks at it. She has taken the rope and chewed on it a couple of times, but quickly loses interest and is back dragging around the loud plastic vacuum cleaner. So far we are getting the 50 cents worth of fun I was expecting when I picked it up at the garage sale.