A Peanut in the Pumpkin Patch

Big Kid

Today the Peanut is 4 months old. She is getting big. She likes to play in this ExerSaucer and spin herself around and grab the toys. Today she had to go get shots, which was no fun. Tonight, she will get cereal and eat from a spoon for the first time.

Vacation

So, we just got back from New York. We went up there to surprise Kev's mom for her birthday. It is probably a good thing for readers of this blog that this trip was a surprise, or beforehand you'd have had to read all about the fretting I did about travelling with the Peanut on the airplane and having to adjust her segments and so forth. But after all that fretting, she did pretty well. She was mostly good on the plane, and only slightly less good in the car. She had some trouble with napping, but not too much. We had a lot of fun with Kev's family, and I got to meet our new neice and play with our nephew and all the good dogs. We saw deer and a heron and a woodchuck and a hawk. Alas, no owls, except one in captivity at a bird show during Farm Day at the Roosevelt estate. I got not one but TWO barbecue chicken wraps from Coco's not to mention several pieces of homemade apple pie and a fabulous meal on Sunday prepared by Kev's sisters including, among other things, delicious pumpkin bisque and, get this, chocolate gazpacho! The weather was rainy at times, but mostly nice and cool. I wore my orange shoes every day...they are perfect for fall. Anyway, I now have confidence that travelling with a baby is not that hard, and I won't fret about it so much when we go back at Christmas. At least I'll try not to. Below are some photos from the fun.

Wilderness

We loaded the Peanut in the Bjork and took her for a walk around the neighborhood. Here she is, several feet into the wilderness for the first time. We'd have gone deeper into the woods, but I didn't want to get my orange shoes muddy. I know. I'm lame.

Not Hot

In New York, they have this thing called "fall" where the trees change colors and it is cool and pleasant outside. This picture is from over at FDR's place. The leaves will be peaking soon.

Poor Monkey

Daphne and Katie enthralled by The Kev Show. Ralph in the background, getting no attention.

Babies Babies Everywhere

Daphne with her cousin Katie and her friends Elizabeth and Gabriel.

Pope Penguin I

Thanks to Auntie Kim for the cool penguin hat! New York stories coming soon...

Postcard

Greetings from beautiful historic Hyde Park, New York. Having a great time with family and dogs. The weather is delightfully cool, and I have been wearing sweaters! We have seen deer and a Great Blue Heron in the yard, as well as Canada geese and other birds around town. The Peanut segments are a little off, but we are still getting to sleep through the night. Yesterday we went to FDR's house for "Farm Day." A guy was there with an owl! Pictures coming soon....

Segments

The Peanut and I have developed quite a routine. Unfortunately, she is like me, so it takes very little to throw her off her groove. Therefore, any slight adjustment to the routine could (and often does) result in a meltdown. My new goal is to help her become a little more flexible without undoing all the work I've done to get her to take reasonable naps and sleep all night. I'm not sure how to do that, but I will try.

Anyway, our day is currently divided into five segments, and I will outline them below, not because I think anyone has any interest in our segments, but because this blog has become the default Peanut Chronicle, and I may want to remember this someday.

Segment 1: 7:30 - 11:00am

7:30 T. gets up, makes coffee, eats something quick, starts a load of laundry, checks email.
8:00 T. gets Peanut up, changed, and fed
8:30 P. watches Clifford* while T. does chores
9:00 Walk in the bjork, weather permitting. Otherwise, playtime on Gymini
10:00 P. takes nap**, T. showers, blogs, eats something quick, does chores.

Segment 2: 11:00 - 2:00 pm

11:00 P. wakes up and eats
11:30 Playtime: Gymini, etc. or errands in the car
12:30 P. takes nap, T. blogs or does chores

Segment 3: 2:00 - 4:30 pm

2:00 P. wakes up and eats
2:30 Playtime or errands in the car
3:30 P. naps, T. does some stuff

Segment 4: (The Final Countdown) 4:30 - 7:30pm

4:30 P. wakes up and eats
5:00 - 6:30 Playtime and "The Mommy Show" (whatever needs to be done to entertain P. until bath time)
6:30 Bath time!
7:00 Peanut's final meal of the day
7:30 Bedtime for Peanut

Segment 5: 7:30 - 10:00pm (Adults only!)
Make dinner, eat dinner, watch Star Trek (or Nova on Tues or the Office on Thurs), hang out with Kev, have band practice, go to bed.

Weekends are different, as they include different play time activities and methods of damage control, as well as the Mommy and Daddy show, which is better than the Mommy show because it has juggling among other things. Daddy is more talented than Mommy.

*Every time I walk through the room during Clifford, one of those dogs is threatening to stop being friends with one of the other dogs, and Clifford (is that John Ritter?) is trying to be the voice of reason. Is there just the one episode of Clifford, or is this a recurring theme?

**If the Peanut says the following :Ging! Nyang! or Angang!, or if she rolls over on her side and starts to suck her thumb, that means she is ready for a nap, and must be taken to the napping area asap or we risk meltdown.

Pilates for Babies

The Peanut works on her core.

Yoga Troubles and Pumpkin Bread

I just finished eating a slice of warm delicious pumpkin bread. (Kev took a slice off the end before I could take the picture). I finally made some this afternoon after all that talk about it last week. I just didn't have time last week, and then Friday it was 98 degrees and I couldn't get into the spirit of pumpkin bread, but today it was cool and fall-like, so I made some. I want some more, and may justify having another slice by claiming I'm only in it for the Vitamin A.

So, Friday when it was 98 degrees, I went to the second yoga class, the one at the wellness spa. And now I have a dilemma. Here's the thing. It was a really good class, meaning it was really difficult and I got a great workout. The teacher was good, and I didn't get pressed on at all. And it wasn't hokey. Well, ok, there was a gong in the studio, but nobody gong-ed it...it was just decoration. But the problem is that it is in the wellness spa, and I don't really fit in at such places. So I spent the whole time feeling kinda dorky and self-consious. And to top it all off, at the end of the class, we had to wait for our cars at the valet stand (yes, you have to valet park your car at the wellness spa), and after the valet brought a brand new BMW to the first lady, and a brand new Mercedes to the second lady, he came rolling up in my 98 Buick with the big dented door and the missing hub cap. High Class! So, now I'm not sure what to do. The yoga at wellness spa is definitely more physically beneficial, but the other yoga where the friendly people liked my shoes is more mentally beneficial. So I have to figure out what I really need most from my limited me-time.

I think I am gonna end up going with the wellness spa yoga. I don't really care too much about the snooty ladies with the fancy cars. I may drive a beat up Buick, but I also have a good baby and a nice husband (who by the way made me beef stew today) and a nice house and a lot of nice friends and family. And who really needs a Mercedes when you've got all that? Plus delicious warm Vitamin A-filled pumpkin bread. That's it, I'm going for another slice...

Bjork

This morning it was really cool out, so we took the Peanut for a walk. This is the first time she has gone for a walk facing front in the Baby Bjorn (which we call the Bjork). She could finally see what the world looks like the way we all see it, rather than seeing it from lying on her back in the stroller. For the first couple of minutes, she was fascinated, and looked all around with great wonder! But then she became preoccupied with trying to eat the bjork, and that was that. Still, it was way more fun than the stroller, and there was no crying, and when she got home, she immediately went to sleep from all the fresh air.

Independent

Look what I can do all by myself. Pretty soon I won't need my mommy at all.

Take Two

Today my mom came to visit and we took the Peanut for a walk to Legal Grounds for breakfast. Legal Grounds is a coffee shop slash law office, only I don't think they have the law part of it anymore. Now they just have coffee and really good food and law books on the shelves to make it look like a law office. At night, oddly enough, it is a Greek restaurant, which we haven't tried yet, mostly on account of when I was pregnant, I couldn't have feta cheese. Oh, how I missed feta! We'll have to go there sometime soon. Anyway, on the way to Legal Grounds, we had to pass the yoga place from the other day, and who was standing outside but the lady who told me she liked my orange shoes! I didn't want her to see me because I decided not to go back there even though I told them all "see you next time" at the end of the class where I got pressed past my edge. It's a good thing my mom was there, because she said, "I'll hide you!" and made a big deal out of blocking me from sight by walking sideways with her arms held out wide. I'm sure no one noticed, it was so subtle (where is sarcasm font when you need it?). My mom thought it was real funny.

I think I may have been a little too hard on the yoga place, though, because the next day I wasn't sore at all. But tomorrow I am going to try another place I found on the internet to see if I like it better. And as a bonus, it is the opening week, so the class is free. I am not sure I will like it though. It will probably be a more traditional class, like I am used to, and I will like that. On the other hand, this class is at a new "wellness spa" associated with a swanky hotel (coming soon!) and I fear I will be surrounded by the Beautiful People rather than old hippie ladies this time. At least with my orange shoes I won't feel like a total loser. Those shoes are like Dumbo's magic feather, I tell you what. So, I will let you know how it goes. At least there probably won't be a poem at the end.

I have almost finished the book I've been reading all year (Mailman) and I could have finished it this afternoon during Daphne's nap, but I didn't. For one thing, I am very worried about how things are going to turn out for Mailman. It doesn't look good. And for another thing, I hate finishing books because then they are over and I have book-finishing letdown, which lasts at least until I find a new book to read. I'll probably go ahead and go finish it when I'm done with this blog though. I've got to do it sometime.

A couple of quick things while I'm thinking about it:

Kim - the pumpkin I have is Libby's brand 100% pumpkin, and on the label it says "Ingredient: Pumpkin" so if it's squash, they've got some explaining to do.

Fooie: I am not allowed to give you my Jambalaya recipe, but I can tell you it is adapted from Eula Mae's Jambalaya in the Tabasco Brand cookbook by McIlhenny.

G.G.: Yeah, Kev told me about the Nerve Pinch thing. I wondered why something called a death grip never actually killed anyone. I think I thought it was called that because of a song called Vulcan Death Grip by a cool band from Austin whose name I suddenly can't remember. All I can think of is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but that's not it. Help me out, Kev.

Thumbalina

I Hurt Myself Today

Today I was all excited because my dad came over to babysit so I could do something for myself and go to yoga. I haven't been since I stopped going to pregnant lady yoga back in April and I really miss it. So, I went to this place in my neighborhood to try a class. You can go as a "drop-in" and pay per class, or you can get a punch card and pay for several classes in advance at a slight discount. Today, I went as a drop-in.

The class started off OK. The teacher was really nice and the other women in the class were nice too. The studio smelled like patchouli and there was some pleasant background music on. The teacher told me that this would not be like other traditional yoga classes I've been to, and that this was all about just "going to my edge." Fine by me. Especially since it's been so long since I've done any exercise besides walking. But as the class went on, the poses were really difficult, and the teacher would go around and start pressing on people, including me, and she pressed on me until I was well over my edge, and once I even had to say, "Ow ow ow." I tried but failed to find a picture on the internet of this one pose she got us into so I could show you. What a twisted mess! Still, at the end of the class, I felt really good. All loose and relaxed. I didn't even mind the hokey poem she read at the end. (I can overlook the hokiness factor of yoga if it's a good class.) And then a lady said she liked my orange shoes! So I almost bought a punch card. I get easily sucked into things when people are nice to me. But something told me to wait, and now it's several hours later and I had to take some Motrin because I kinda feel like I've been hit by a bus and I don't think I want to go back there again so it's a good thing I didn't buy a punch card. So, I am feeling a little sad that it didn't work out at this place, because it is walking distance from my house and now I'm going to have to try to find another place and be the "new person" again. Dangit.

And tonight we finished the last of the jambalaya I made last Friday, and Kev is leaving town tomorrow for two days, so all that makes me sad too. I swear I could eat Jambalaya every day.

Tomorrow, I am going to take a walk and make some pumpkin bread and cheer myself up. And then I'll start the search for another yoga class. OM....

Happy

Only 12 days until October. October = State Fair of Texas = Bird show + Fair food. Also, we can take Daphne to the Arboretum for fall blooms and the pumpkin patch. October is the best month of all.

I am going to make some pumpkin bread soon to celebrate. Mmmmm...pumpkin bread.

Today, I put on my orange shoes and took my baby to Target. I felt almost hip and cool, and the Peanut was good. No in-store meltdowns.

Now I can't stop thinking about pumpkin bread.

Update: I have just checked the pantry, and we have pumpkin! Yes!

Scream Face

New Shoe Review

So, the other day when I was feeling all frumpy and sorry for myself, I told Kev that I'd like to be "the Modern Mom." I'm not sure what that really means, exactly, but I am hoping these new orange shoes are a step (no pun intended) in the right direction. During my summer hibernation, I have pretty much worn my housepants around the clock, but now that the weather is getting better and I've got orange shoes, I am going to try to actually get myself dressed and get out more. Bonus: the shoes match the groovy owl scarf that Kev got me last year. Bring on the fall!

Trek Moves

So, channel G4 (whatever that is) always has these Star Trek marathons on Saturday mornings, and I have been recording them (for Kev, of course). Since there is almost never anything worth watching at 8:00pm (when we finally eat dinner after putting the Peanut to bed), we've recently been watching an episode each night while we eat. I think I am starting to get the hang of Star Trek, although I still get in trouble for laughing at it from time to time. Anyway, last night Kev and I almost got into an argument because of the Vulcan Death Grip. Kev thinks it's a cool move, but I think it's really corny. Not as corny as Captain Kirk's signature karate-chop (never fails!), but corny nonetheless. It reminds me of a WWF move, like the People's Elbow, or whatever it was called when Mankind got out his sock puppet. I'm sure there are some Trekkies out there who would like to have my head for such Spock blasphemy. Oh well. Anyway, I don't mind watching Star Trek. Mr. Scott's pretty cool.

On a somewhat related note, we watched The Sting the other night (it happened to be on at 8:00pm). Now, THAT is some greatness.

And Speaking of Hair

Mine is falling out at an alarming rate. I think it has to do with post-pregnancy body chemistry. We find strands of it all over the house. Sometimes even miniature Tara-hair tumbleweeds. It's pretty gross. And a little worrying.

Rush Knucklehead is at it again, and it's almost 9:30pm. If he wakes up the Peanut, there will be trouble.

The screaming was a little less today. I am limiting play with Gerald.

Hairdo?

More like a Hairdon't. Poor little thing.

The Screamer

My baby has started a new phase. What began as cute experimental "squealing with delight" has turned into bouts of screaming that could rival any of Jason or Freddy Kruger's victims. She mostly screams at her elephant (who we have named "Gerald," (above) but that's another story).* She tries to eat Gerald's feet, and when she fails, she begins to scream the most horrifying blood-curdling screams I have ever heard. This screaming can last as long as 20 minutes if I let it.
As a speech-language pathologist, I am concerned about her abusing her vocal folds. As a mom, I am completely beaten down, and terrified it will start happening in public places like the grocery store or the mall, or if it lasts until Christmas, Lord help me, the airplane.

Why is she screaming? Why is she so mad at her toys? I suppose it is just all part of learning to talk, but man oh man, it's wearing me out. Have any of you other parents out there been through the screamer phase? If so, please tell me it is a short one, even if it isn't. I need a glimmer of hope to get me through this.

* Elephant Gerald. Get it?

Educational TV

Today on Clifford the Big Red Dog, we learned that if you have an itch, you have to scratch it, even if it means you might have to wear a cone. Your real friends will still play with you whether you have a cone or not.

Happy Birthday Kim!

Good luck with the contract!

(Sorry it's so hard to read the sign)

Ukulele Baby

Another Sabado Gigante

We had a big Saturday, starting with breakfast at the Dream Cafe (how can you go wrong if you start that way?). Kev's friend and secret LRHS reader Detroit Jill came for a visit, so we loaded up the Peanut and went to the Dream Cafe for a lovely breakfast on the patio, which was so nice that it wasn't even completely ruined by the dead fly in my syrup.

After that, we went over to the lake for a stroll. At the little pavillion by the playground, a very large group of Indian people were gathered for a rally/walk featuring a Swami! We know it was a swami because there was a poster of him that said "Swami" on it. He was dressed from head to toe in orange...a long flowing robe and a tall cylindrical hat. For some reason, he led a small group down to the lake carrying an inflatable raft. Some of the men in the group got in the raft, rowed out a short distance, and rowed back to shore. You never know what you might see at the lake. There was also an egret and several turtles and a group of girl scouts, but they didn't have any cookies.

Then, last night, Kev and I went to Billy Bob's Texas to see the great Chris Isaak. We left the Peanut with Julie (thanks Julie!), and even though we were all the way in Fort Worth, I didn't worry about her hardly at all. The show was awesome. Chris Isaak might be the only straight guy who can get away with wearing a suit made of hundreds of tiny mirrors without looking like a total cheese ball. If I had more free time, I would make a suit like that for Kev, who at the very least could wear it at Halloween.

On the way home, we saw a huge fire. It was an office building or maybe a warehouse west of downtown, and north of I-30. Many people were pulled over on the highway to look at it.

So, visitors, waffles, swamis, babysitters, Fort Worth, Chris Isaak, and a giant fire. Pretty big Saturday.

Hooray!

LarryFeathers has blogged, and it makes for some fine reading, I tell you what. Worth the wait.

Na-Nanny-Boo-Boo

Monkey Dress

Thanks to the great john_clark for discovering this dress. Maybe Bjork or someone will be wearing it to some awards show in the future.

The Thumb That Saved My Sanity

Here she is, hands folded, sound asleep with thumb in mouth.

Tic Tac Toe

Three in a row. Three nights in a row, that is, where the Peanut has put herself to sleep and then slept all night. I think that's enough to be considered a trend that's pretty much here to stay. She's sleeping about 12 hours now. It is so great. Now I don't feel like I have to rush to bed right away to maximize my sleeping time. She goes to bed at about 8:00 and goes to sleep within about 10 minutes, and the past few nights, I have been able to stay up for a while and watch TV and READ! I am finally going to get to finish reading "Mailman" (which is a book I started reading way back in May). I almost feel like a normal person again.

Today's challenge: taking the baby to the grocery store without a meltdown.

UPDATE: So, we just got back from the store...the Peanut was awake the whole time and was good all the way to the deli counter, which is the last stop. There, she decided to melt down right in front of the nice deli man who has been waiting to see her. (It's my own dang fault, I guess, for taking too long in the sausages. I couldn't help it! There were so many to choose from!)* The wailing lasted until we got to the checkout, where the lines were loooong. So, I had to take her down from the grocery cart and swing her back and forth in the seat for about 15 minutes so she wouldn't scream. A request for those of you who go to the grocery store kid-free: If you see a beaten-down looking lady with a screaming infant in a heavy carseat which needs to be swung to keep the peace, for the love of Pete, be a good citizen and let her go ahead of you. It's the nicest thing you could do. On a more positive note, a short British lady was giving out samples of an Asian Pear. It was delightful! I bought two.

*For anyone who is interested, I went with a smoked bratwurst.

Nelson!

Hey, remember these guys? Look at that hair!

My parents are currently on board Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, and guess who is the featured entertainment? That's right. An older, shorter-haired set of Nelson twins (not to be confused with Olson twins which are completely different). Anyway, poor Nelson. Reduced to cruise ship status.

Now, everyone knows I love cruises, but certainly not for the shows. I love to be at sea and have mild adventures, like parasailing and river tubing and so forth. Last time I went on a cruise, I was supposed to go snorkeling with stingrays, but we had to bypass Grand Cayman because of a hurricane, so I didn't get to do it. Now, with all that happened with the crocodile hunter, I don't think snorkeling with stingrays is the mild adventure for me.

Well, anyway, hi to my parents who are probably checking this blog from the ship from time to time.

This blog has been brought to you by Daphne's Nap.

Waking Up All Happy

"It's my birthday!"

One Quarter

Birthday Girl - Sound asleep (still!) at 7:30 AM

Today is Daphne's One Quarter Birthday. It is hard to believe she is three months old. During these three months, she has accomplished a lot. She has doubled in weight, grown 5 or 6 inches, learned to roll both ways, learned to use her hands and squeal and make lots of interesting sounds, and slept all night 4 times (including last night!). In fact last night, she put herself to sleep for the first time. No big 45 minute production of rocking and rocking and delicate maneuvering into the crib whilst holding my breath and praying not to step on a creaky floor board only to have her wake up after 30 seconds because she needed that one last good burp. Aaaahhh. This time, I just read her a story, rocked her until she was sleepy, said goodnight, and put her to bed. Fifteen minutes later, she was fast asleep. No crying, even! As much as I am annoyed by the thumb-sucking, that is what helped her go to sleep on her own. Thank you, thumb!

Also, the hair is still red and the eyes are still blue. I love my good little baby. Happy Birthday, Peanut!

Monkey Time

Ralph is Daphne's new favorite toy. They appear to be conspiring...

Saturday in the Park

Going outside is finally bearable, so Saturday night, we took the Peanut to the local playground for some sliding and swinging. She didn't quite get it. But the fresh air and activity was enough to make her sleep all night again, plus some very nice small Mexican boys told us our baby is cute, so going to the park is good.

Sorry, More Baby Pictures

After breakfast, Daphne likes to sit in her bouncey seat, watch TV (Big Big World is her favorite) and play with this toy. We call it the "pentapus" because it only has five legs. It is either some kind of misfit octopus, or a five-legged vegetable guy. Anyway, she likes to grab the legs and make him jingle. She has also learned to squeal with delight, and has been practicing this for the last few days. She is very loud for something so little.

The Peanut Sucks...

...her thumb. It's kinda cute now, but it won't be if she's still doing it when she's 12. Oh well. It's better than smoking, I reckon.

Girl Meets Dog

Yesterday I took the Peanut to the Land of Gar. She has been there many times, and has been around Albert the Good Dog a lot, but yesterday was the first time she really paid attention to him. She watched him with a look on her face like she was really trying to figure him out. I was scared of dogs when I was little, so my goal is to make sure Daphne is NOT. I want her to get used to Albert (and for Albert to get used to her - he is a little jealous) as soon as possible. Especially since when we go up to New York for Christmas, there are going to be four dogs for her to get to know.

Albert was nice to her yesterday. He gets upset when she cries though. And when he isn't getting enough attention, he tries to eat his stuffed squirrel. Poor Albert. He's not the baby anymore, but we all still love him just as much as ever.

O Brutha, Where Art Thou?

The black man has turned his back on the blues.

On Tuesday night, Kev and I went to see the great Robert Cray at the Granada. It is always fun to go to see a show at the Granada because it is a cool place and it reminds me of my wedding day. Robert Cray was fantastic, as I expected he would be. Besides Elvis Costello, I think Robert Cray has my favorite singing voice. It is very rich and smooth and a little raspy, a lot like a cello sounds.

Every time Kev and I go to a blues show, we are disappointed by the fact that there are never any black people there. Robert Cray was no exception. I saw only two black people, and it was a pretty packed house. The crowd pretty much consisted of middle aged overweight white people, including the members of the Robert Cray Band. The poly-cotton blend Hawaiian shirt was a big player. I guess I should relish the rare occasion of being among the youngest and skinniest and most fashionable 10-15% of the audience. That doesn't happen very often.

It was a fun night. The weather was actually cool and pleasant. Tomorrow is the first day of September. Aaaaah.

A quick note on the Peanut: Yesterday, she learned to roll from her back onto her stomach. And last night, she slept from 9pm to 7am! It is the first time in almost a year that I slept all night without having to get up to tend to the baby or go to the bathroom. Celebrate good times, come on!

Reasons to be Happy - Tuesday Aug.29

1. Daphne is taking a good nap/ I just finished a nap of my own.
2. Yesterday, there was a big storm.
3. High temps this week only 94 or so.
4. Only 2 more days of August.
5. Tonight we are going out into the world to see the great Robert Cray at the Granada.
6. I think there is Vietnamese food (that I don't have to cook) in my near future.

Words Words Words

The other day, Daphne was wearing her fruit dress, and I told Kev we should make a PPHPHB song about all the different fruits. It was then that Kev announced he doesn't like the word "fruit." Personally, I think "fruit" is a fine word, but I promised him I'd try not to say "fruit" if he would try not to say "dollop." I can't stand the word "dollop." But I really like the words "thwart," "fraught," and "disheveled." Those words probably wouldn't make a very good song, though.

Put Me in the Zoo

Daphne is wondering where all the pink spots came from.

Sometimes I get bored and dress her up even though we have no place to go. This very cute dress is from Julie.

Something New to Do

When you go day after day playing with the same couple of things, it is so great to find something new to do. A bigger Peanut means more variety. She was a little unsure of this jumpy seat at first, but I think she likes it.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

My baby slept all night!

Time Waste

Our city is not exactly in the best shape, and the City Council is sitting around debating whether to make baggy saggy pants illegal. Good grief.

Orange Crush

So Kev bought this "Citrus Splash" toothpaste. I was suspicious, but I tried it anyway, and I have to tell you, it is delightful. It is like brushing your teeth with Orange Julius, and you still get a minty fresh after-taste. Try some!

The Peanut's Big Trick of the Day

Daphne has at last discovered her hands and realized they can hold things.

At the Movies! with the LRHS

So, here I sit, under a cloud of guilt, blogging. Daphne is taking a nap, so shouldn't I be taking a nap too? Or if not, shouldn't I be doing some sort of chore? But, I already took a nap today, and I already did some chores, so now I going to do something fun. Besides, yesterday I received a comlpaint that my blog just isn't what it used to be, what with all the baby pictures, and no talk of birds or troublesome neighbors or other such things. So, here goes:

Last week, I left the house a total of two times.* Once on Monday to go to the grocery store, and once on Friday to go to Target. I am not going to count taking out the trash or getting the mail. August is just not condusive to field trips, especially with an 11 week old baby. We are now on our 34th day at temperatures in the triple digits. (Last night at 10, it was still 96 degrees, and it was 86 at 5 this morning). The air pollution is at level orange. And on top of all that, there has been a recent West Nile virus death in our zip code. So, I can't even take the Peanut out for a walk. Needless to say, I was a little house-crazy. So my parents came to babysit last night, and Kev and I went to the movies, which is a great place to go because it is cold there, and there is popcorn and rootbeer.

If you like good movies and don't mind some pretty bad swear words, I highly recommend Little Miss Sunshine. It is smart and funny and dark and heartwarming all at the same time. Plus it has the great Steve Carrell in it. I give it 4 out of 5 penguins. Maybe even 4 and a half.

Last time I went to a movie was the night before the Peanut was born. I don't remember the name of it. Something about Cuba with Andy Garcia. It wasn't very good, and it was difficult to follow because the main characters were brothers and they looked alike and I couldn't keep up with who was who (who was whom?). Anyway, that didn't matter, because we left in the middle of the movie due to I started going into labor. Kev says it was the speedbumps on Belmont on the way to the theater. I think the Peanut was protesting such a lame movie. Plus, when I was pregnant, I was diabetic, so I couldn't even enjoy popcorn and rootbeer. So I give the Cuba movie half a penguin and my gratitude for helping get things going with the baby.

After the movie last night, we went to dinner at a mediocre Mediterranean place that just opened nearby. Even though the food was just OK, it was nice not to have to cook, and it was fun being out with Kev, talking about stuff besides spit-up and poop. Speaking of poop, I will blog a birthday/book review blog soon. I can't promise there won't be more baby pictures in between, though.

*I am proud to say that even though I am home all the time sitting around in my house pants, I have not watched one single minute of Oprah or Dr. Phil.

Big Day for Little Peanut

Today the Peanut is 11 weeks old, and she decided to celebrate by rolling herself over. You can see her thinking about it in the first picture. Then, in the second picture, she makes the move. Check out that look of sheer determination. It took her a while, but she made it. Then I tried to get her to do it again, but she couldn't and she got really mad. She also purposefully reached for a toy today. So, happy 11 week birthday Daphne Claire. I think you've earned some second-hand ice cream today!

Coming soon: LRHS movie review!

Fruit Baby

Saturday Fun Links

Here is some fun for you on Saturday:

1. The other day, we received a catalog in the mail, addressed to Kev, from this place:

http://sergeantswestern.com/

What the heck? Does Kev have a secret life he needs to tell me about?

2. My Aunt Kathy sent me this link below. These guys are genius, watch for fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fokgo%2Enet%2Fnews%2Easpx

Then stay there and watch their "A Million Ways" video too.

It just occurred to me that most people in the world probably already know about and have seen these videos, as Kev and I are pretty much shut-ins and don't know much about what goes on in the world of cool videos and such. But if you haven't seen them, please enjoy.

Captive Audience

Part of the job as the parent of an infant is being as entertaining as possible. The reason you have to do this, besides stimulating the baby, is to pass the time between feedings and naps without experiencing a meltdown. The other night, we put the Peanut in her new Big Girl Chair, which she is still a little too little for, and gave her a rare Palo Pinto House Pants House Band show. When I say she was a captive audience, I mean that in the sense that she couldn't have escaped if she wanted to. You can see from her expression and the drool on her shirt how interested she was in our band. Actually, I think she sort of enjoyed it for a while. She was treated to the unlikely combo of baritone uke, kazoo, and vibra-slap, doing a housepants version of Clementine. I bet that has never been done before. I hope we haven't killed any chance of her wanting to join the band. We are counting on her to be the cellist.

Update

So we made it through the shots. Actually, they weren't so bad. The nurse was great and did them really fast. The bad news is that Daphne had to get a PKU again, which if you don't know is when they stick babies in the heel and draw a bunch of blood for testing. She's already had it done twice, but they had to do it again because the sample got messed up somehow last time. Anyway, it was awful. There is no worse feeling than having your little baby screaming in pain and looking at you wondering how you could let this happen. I cried and cried. I am so glad it's over now. Daphne has since forgiven me, and she played a while and is now taking a nap. And I think the people at the doctor's office felt pretty bad about messing up the last PKU, because they gave me four free cans of Good Start. I just had the ice cream I promised the Peanut, and am feeling slightly better.

On a happier note, Kev and I get to go out Saturday night to dinner and maybe even a movie. What should we see? I don't even know what's playing.

Hello to Brad's friend Fooie. I'm glad you like the pictures. I am also glad that Brad has friends.

Mama Trauma

Tomorrow morning I have to take the Peanut to the doctor's office to get shots. I think she has to get four. Two in each leg. This is most upsetting. We've already had a long talk about how it is going to hurt, but she has to be brave because it's good for her and all that. But I am the one who needs to be brave. I'd rather go to the dentist or give birth again or even fly on an airplane than to have to watch my poor little Peanut get poked. She makes tears when she cries now, so that will make it much worse. Maybe since her legs are so fat, it won't hurt so much. I told her I would eat some ice cream when we get home so that she can get some ice cream second-hand.

The Super Skunk Incident

When Kev was a little kid, he had a skunk toy named Super Skunk as a constant companion. One day, his family went out to dinner at Bonanza, or Ponderosa, or someplace like that, and Super Skunk was left behind and lost forever. This was a great tragedy, and it apparently scarred Kevin dramatically, because it always gets brought up whenever we visit Kev's parents. ("Remember that time I left Super Skunk at the Bonanza(?) and you wouldn't take me back to get him..."). I suppose they finally grew tired of the guilt trip, because on Saturday, Super Skunk II arrived on our doorstep. He is a puppet. Daphne loves him. But I think she's gonna have to fight her daddy for Super Skunk time.

Hey, are there still Bonanzas and Ponderosas?

Countdown

Only 27 days until September, and only 57 days until October. August is the worst month of the year. I hope it goes by as fast as June and July did. October is the best month of the year. Summer is a drag. I am ready to get out my sweaters. I'd even give up berries if it would stop being 101 every stinking day.

Fun Good Happy Baby

She is already starting to look like a big kid.

Silly Monkey

Roly Poly with Orange Mohawk

Daphne Claire weighs over 11 pounds now. Hair is still unruly and orange. I love it!