So long, NaBloPoMo

It's the last day of November, and I actually posted everyday for National Blog Posting Month! Thanks so much to everyone who stopped in daily, as well as those fellow bloggers who joined me in the daily task. I'm kinda sad that it's over...not only did I enjoy posting everyday, I really liked having so many posts to read from other people. I don't know if this means I'm a blabbermouth or what, but I didn't have much trouble coming up with something to say everyday. *blush*

But I probably shouldn't spend this much time on the computer, though I enjoy it. So I'm sure the daily blogging won't continue in December, but maybe a little more often than my average "every 3.3 days"... I hope everyone else will continue to post often!

Wildlights

In the true holiday spirit, we went out as a family to participate in a festive winter activity: Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo. Picture this: sometime between Christmas and New Years you go to the zoo, at night, in order to see thousands and thousands of strands of lights. So of course, it's cold. You can still enjoy the inside exhibits, and they have lots of holiday festivities. It was really fun, and we went with Pam, Craig, & Jack. I was amazed at how well Katy did (ha! no pun intended), because she was up waaaay past her bedtime. But they had a blast, and now I'm even more in the Christmas spirit. Now if I could turn that mood into the motivation to get some shopping done, we'd be making progress...

It's hard to move in all this gear...

Apparently these "Bubble Boy" contraptions are all the rage in England. :)

Katy and Daddy rode the carousel with Craig and Jack. I was impressed - she loved it, she was even clapping her hands. What a sweetheart.

The joys of feeding yourself

This is what I found when I turned around after hearing Katy say "nose, nose!!"

'Tis the Season

I'm not one to decorate for each season (though I wish I was, I always think it's so pretty, I just haven't ever done it), so maybe that's why I love decorating for Christmas. It's the one time of the year that there's a little variety in the house, and it brings warm homey feelings. Here's a look at some of the new additions to our Christmas cheer...

A fourth stocking for baby brother...(he doesn't need a full size one, obviously)

My growing Willow Tree Nativity scene

Our annual Hallmark Keepsake ornament (my mom got one for each of us every year since I was born, so we're continuing the tradition. This one says "Connected with a bond of belonging - forever family, 2007." That's how I feel this year: blessed to be a family, and looking forward to the many adventures that are in store for us ahead.

one more bonus...

My techno-savvy husband pointed out to me one more OBvious bonus of our photo shoot at Portrait Innovations. One that relates directly to this blog. I have a CD with every picture taken from the shoot, which allows me to put samples on this blog. (Note: if you are like me, the first thing you think when you hear "photo CD" is: "wait, does that mean I can take the CD and go make reprints off of snapfish for 12 cents a pop?" No, it does not mean that. Unfortunately, they make it so you can only go back to their store for reprints, but you can upload them and share them.)

So I won't share the family picture we selected for the card, because that would be anticlimactic for those of you who get a card, don't you think? But here are a couple that we also thought were good (these are pre-crop, so the prints look a little better than this):

A new portrait experience

After much ranting and raving from fellow moms, I tried a new place to get portraits taken. Last night we went to Portrait Innovations for our annual family photo. Up until this point, we have always gone to JcPenney. And for the most part, I've been happy there. You definitely can't beat it for the price. But I have had a few complaints. One is that it is always the most stressful experience. You feel rushed from the moment you set foot in the place until you leave. The entire time you are trying to keep your little one from losing it in a relatively small space. And also, if you go very often, your pics start to look kinda similar. I think it depends on the location, but sometimes you have to be proactive to get them to do something other than your kid in front of a white background.

So I was happier overall with my experience at Portrait Innovations, but I did spend more money, maybe about 30-40% more than I would've at JCP. But here were the highlights:

*I think it's impossible to go to any portrait studio this time of year and it not be busy. But even though it was busy, I didn't feel stressed. There was plenty of room, entertaining toys for Katy, and you got to SIT in front of a large monitor to review your pictures.

*They were really good at getting Katy to smile. I was nervous because of her recent anxiety, I thought she'd be so scared she wouldn't cooperate, but she did great. They were really good with kids.

*They encourage you to bring an outfit change and take lots of poses, so you are sure to come up with something that you like. (I actually brought a 2nd non-Christmas outfit for Katy, intending to get some generic 18-month shots, but I didn't like any of them, so I ended up with all Christmas poses, but that's fine)

*You get your photos in 20 minutes, rather than 3 weeks later at JCP. Plus, this place is much closer to my house than JCP, so when Katy was tired and hungry and I decided not to wait, I was able to run over there the next morning and pick them up - convenient!

*There were lots of props and different backgrounds, so you could come regularly and not get bored.

*They do have a $9.95 deal similar to JCP if you only get one pose. But if you go up from there, it's more expensive, like I said. I really like how JCP has the mix and match sheets for $3.99 each. That's just a darn good deal - you can walk outta there with a large stack of pictures for $30.

So many of you will see the results of this session in at least one form in a Christmas card soon enough. I'm not sure the next time around what I will decide - was it worth the extra money?

The Great Room Exchange

We are getting ready to do what I like to call "The Great Room Exchange." Here are the steps:

1) Rearrange the master bedroom to accomodate everything that is currently in Brian's office.

2) Move everything from Brian's office into the master bedroom.

3) Move the current guest room furniture into the former office.

4) Set up a "big girl room" in the old guest room.

So I'm spending a lot of time on craigslist these days, looking for some of the items that we need to make all of this possible. And it occured to me that if I'm going to give someone money for their used belongings, I'd love to give it to someone I know. So does anyone have or know of anyone who'd like to sell any of the following items?

*Dresser for Katy's new room, preferrably white or off-white

*Crib - we have an extra mattress, so all I need is a frame that meets current safety standards

*Double stroller (front to back, that you can put a Graco infant car seat into) (ok, so this isn't for the Great Room Exchange, but I'm also looking for one of these on craigslist)

*A rolltop desk, not too large, because we don't have a huge space

I know many of you who read this blog are setting up for your own growing families, so it's a long shot that anyone will have anything, but I thought it was worth asking...

Highlights for which to be thankful

*Katy slept very well, including naps, at both my Dad's and my grandma's. She's a much better traveler than this time last year. And I only packed 2 small bags for her.



*Katy is obsessed with animals, and absolutely loved my Dad's dog Scout. Just look at that smile.




*We got lots of hang-out time with family, including 7 grandparents. We are so very fortunate to have all this family.



*I got to stop by and see my friend Cindy and her family. I love seeing them, and it brings back a lot of good memories from growing up. Plus it was fun to see how Katy interacted in her home. She gave kisses all around as we left.

*My grandpa dug out this swing that he built when my mom was little. Katy's time at my grandparents' was a series of swinging, eating, and chasing the cat...

*So Katy loved Rosie the cat. She chased it just like she chased the dog, but the cat was less than thrilled. At one point she followed Rosie into the other room, and I went behind her, because I was nervous that she was annoying the cat a little too much. And good thing I did: as Rosie ran under a coat rack and Katy reached under to pet her, the cat started to hiss. I reached over and scooped her up, but not quite quickly enough. The cat went nuts, scratching, hissing, and snapping at her. She managed to scrape her paw across Katy's temple before I grabbed her, and it scared both of us into tears. But I am really thankful for this. First of all, I'm thankful that I was right there to grab her, that the cat missed her eye, and that I got a really good warning about how I need to teach Katy to be careful around animals. I don't have any pets, so I don't think I'm as careful as I should be about them. This little incident really freaked me out. Unfortunately, it had no effect on Katy. She continued to try to chase the poor animal and chant "kee kat, kee kat, kee kat." So I have some work to do...



*Brian got to watch alot of sports. This is really relaxing for him so I'm glad that he had a good time. He and my grandpa had quite the set-up, so they were sure not to miss a beat...

Just for the record...

Just so I don't ruin my "post everyday for a month" thing... I'm at my grandparents' house, where they have dial up. Needless to say, it took me forever just to get to this page, so I'm going to keep it short. We're having a really nice visit. We'll be home tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Greetings from my Dad and Sue's house... we've had a really nice day today with family. Brian got up this morning and ran the Turkey Trot - and he ran a PR for him, so that was exciting. And we got to see Cindy - bonus! It was a cold morning to be a spectator, especially after it's been 60 all week. But Katy is having a good time pulling the dog's tail and sleeping in the bathroom (hey, you do whatcha gotta do). Tomorrow we'll be spending some time with my mom and that side of the family, and doing what we can to avoid the malls. (Somehow I usually get sucked in, though, at some point during the weekend). Hope you are having a good holiday!

Nice try, Mom

Ever since the Buckeye victory over Michigan, I've been trying to get a cute video of Katy rooting for the Bucks. She knows who Brutus is, can say his name, can say "Go Bucks!" and dances to the fight song. Cute, right? Unfortunately, she has recently figured out what this whole camera thing is about, so this is the closest thing I can get to a performance:

If boy clothes are this cute...

...heaven help me. Brian's mom and John sent these Robeez shoes for our new little Baby Brother. Aren't they the cutest things? First of all, I love Robeez. For about a 6 month period, they were the only shoes that Katy couldn't kick off, and she wore them constantly while she was learning to scoot, crawl, pull up, cruise, and walk. They were just so easy and cute.

Also, these shoes got me excited to buy boy's clothes. Although Katy has some really cute clothes and it would be very easy to just hand them down to her sibling, it's kind of fun that you must start over. Clearly I will have some serious shopping to do. That's the sacrifice that I will have to make as a mom of a Baby Brother.

18 months - is it possible?

As my sister-in-law reminded me yesterday, today is Katy's half birthday. That means she's one and a half. Actually, throughout our visit yesterday, Kelly kept referring to Katy as "2" or "almost 2". I don't think of her as "almost 2" at all, but more like "just past one." But here we are, halfway to her 2nd birthday. I seriously just cannot believe it.

In a very punctual manner, we had Katy's 18 month well visit today. We got all vaccinated, and here are her new stats:

Weight: 22 lbs. 3 oz., 25%'ile

Height: 31.25 in., 35%'ile

I was also able to talk to the pediatrician about Katy's recent scary habits. I really like my pediatrician, because he really listens and provides a good balance between genuine concern and experienced reassurance. He said that what I was describing was definitely unusual, and that it was worth keeping an eye on. However, he said that during the 30 years that he has been practicing, he has seen 18 month olds do some really weird things that they just end up growing out of. He said that if she is eventually warming up to people and not doing it in familiar places, it's probably just extreme stranger anxiety. He did mention a condition called selective mutism, of which I have heard, that we may need to consider if she doesn't grow out of it. I'm really tempted to google it, but we all know what that will lead to. So I'll just keep an eye on it and pray that it's something she will outgrow.

Road Trip Struggles

Since all of our family is out of town and pretty much spread out across 3 states, we do a lot of road tripping. Most of the time these are little 2-4 hour jogs to visit people for a couple of nights. I didn't use to blink at a 4 hour drive. I went to college 10 hours away from home and frequently made that drive all by my lonesome, and often in the snow. But one you have kids, that totally changes. Katy has never been a car sleeper. She didn't even sleep on the way home from the hospital, God love her. She wants to move, move, and move some more, and the car is just way too constrictive and boring. We've had ups and downs in the car trip scenario, and right now we're in a Down period. Today we drove 3 hours round trip to see Brian's brother and his family, and I was getting really frustrated. This is how our trips go these days:

*About 2 minutes into the trip, the vocal demands begin at top volume. Usually the first one is "guk! guk!" (book). I reach into the bag and hand back a book.

*She flips through the pages for another 2 minutes, then I hear "(thunk) guk! guk!" as the first book is tossed overboard, beyond my reach, and another book is requested. I repeat this process until I am out of books. Same goes for toys.

*The requests eventually change to "doddle! doddle!" (bottle, which is really a cup of milk). I hand back a cup of milk, she sips on it for a few minutes, and then...thunk.

*Once I am out of things to hand to her, the whining starts. I try to reason with her, and usually eventually unbuckle myself to crawl back and pick up all the things she has thrown and start the process over.

I know I could sit in the back with her, and I do for longer trips, which helps some. But once we have another car seat back there it won't be an option, and I would really love to be able to sit up front like an adult and have a conversation with Brian. But maybe that's just not possible with a toddler. Another thing that I've considered is the car DVD player. I know they're pricey and seem excessive, but I'm just wondering if that would make these trips a little less stressful. Anyone else have one? Suggestions?

Big Ten Champs!!

I just have to take a break from all the pregnancy hoopla to say congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes on their victory in the biggest rivalry in college football. It was a really good game to watch today, and although we didn't have a perfect season, it was pretty darn good. And this was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Just imagine us next year!

I have to admit that I breathe a pretty heavy sigh of relief every year after the Michigan game. As much as I enjoy football season, it is really draining. Brian and I were saying on the way home today, "That just freed up 4 hours every Saturday." Shew!!!

Majority Rules

The cutest little baby face...

I spent my entire morning ringing my hands and twiddling my thumbs, waiting for my appointment around lunchtime. The time finally arrived, we got there 2 minutes early, and they informed us that things were really backed up. If you regularly visit an ob/gyn office, you know that's a bad sign. So we waited a painstaking 1.25 hours in the waiting room. Brian tried to distract me with lots of hype about tomorrow's big game, but I was really anxious. Come on, let's go!! But finally, the results are in...

Backbend or somersault? Looks like it hurts...

First and foremost this baby looks perfectly healthy from all angles. The U/S tech complained that she had a hard time getting some good looks because we had a mover and a shaker on our hands. I have felt a lot of movement (since my mom asked about activity level after yesterday's post). And another interesting fact is that I've gained the same amount of weight as I had last time at this point, so that was good to know that I haven't put on tons of extra weight. But the scan was really neat, we got to see a lot of parts, including one we weren't sure if we'd see...

She asked us which one of us had big feet, because apparently these are huge

So as you may have guessed, 62% of you were right, we are having a boy!!! Brian and I were both a little surprised by this news. Since Brian's brother has 3 girls and we have 1, we were kind of thinking that this family was just destined to have girls. And I had my own other reasons for thinking that it was a girl, and I was quite cocky about it in my head. (I was even thinking about the poll - "ha ha ha, they all think I'm having a boy - wait until they find out!") So the joke's on me. I am going to have a son!

This one's a little hard to make out, but right in the middle is a nose (one nostril on top of the other) and lips to the left

So we are really excited. I have to admit, I feel a little uncertain about having a boy. I've just always been around little girls, I feel confident about my ability to have daughters, but this whole son realm is unfamiliar to me. I only had a sister growing up, and I wasn't one to have a lot of close guy friends, so it's just hard for me to imagine this relationship. But now I'm glad that I know - I have plenty of time to get psyched about it, as I'm sure I will be. (Mothers of sons - insert reassurance here)

So that's that. The American dream - one of each, right? We'll see. I feel pretty dreamy about the family I've been blessed with so far... I have a hard time seeing it turn the other direction.

Warning: I'm huge.

I know they say that you're supposed to get bigger sooner with the second pregnancy, but I think this is a little ridiculous. I'm worried that tomorrow I'll go in for my ultrasound and they'll say, "Did we say March? Ooops, I'm sorry, we meant to say January." Because I can't possibly continue to expand at this rate until the end of March. It's NOVEMBER. I have FOUR MONTHS LEFT. Notice the difference in smiles between the 2 shots. There's a little uncertainty in the second one. (I wore the same shirt for proper comparison)

21 weeks with Katy, pulling my shirt snug to get the full effect

21 weeks with #2, no shirt pulling necessary

Irony, bad luck, or just plain clumsiness?

(*note: I apologize if you are bored with the topic of cake servers. I promise new belly shots tomorrow)

I should've just left well enough alone. Why did I have to go on and on about how happy I was with my cake server? I should've kept my big mouth shut.

About an hour after I posted last night, I opened the door to the basement stairs to put my beloved cake server away (I keep some bigger things that I don't use everyday down there). I don't know what happened next, but somehow I dropped it. Again. This time down the stairs. I almost cried when I got to the bottom of the stairs and saw this:




Do you think they'll send me a whole new dome for free?

P.S. Thanks for all the advice about the fish. I think you effectively talked me out of it.

Positive Service Encounter

Today I'm feeling a little bit of love for the people over at Sterilite. To use a term that I learned when my friend Cindy was getting her MBA (and I was living with her at the time), I had a very positive service encounter.

As a wedding present (or perhaps a shower gift?), I received the Sterilite Cake Server, model 0200.

I love this item. I didn't realize before I owned one how often I needed to carry baked goods (cakes, cupcakes, muffins, etc.) from point A to point B without smooshing them. I didn't realize a couple weeks ago as I was using it that it would all come to a tragic end.

As I was carrying the Sterilite Cake Server (empty, thanks goodness), I lost my footing, tripped, and dropped it. One of the little side latches snapped off and broke, and I was no longer able to properly close my Sterilite Cake Server. This tiny problem made my cake server...essentially useless.

The cake server retails for about $20, I think, so it's not like this was a huge deal, but I was really bummed. So I thought I'd take a chance and go to the Sterilite website. I filled out a short online form explaining my problem, and guess what arrived in the mail today? A brand new side latch for my Sterilite Cake Server. Remember that it was broken because I dropped it, and I didn't have a receipt because I got it as a gift over 2 years ago. But no questions asked, my cake server is good as new. And even though this probably cost the company about a buck fiddy, I am so happy.

So happy, that I had to tell all my family in friends about my positive service encounter at Sterilite.

One of those rare opportunities

It's not everyday that you get to hold a newborn. There's just something amazing about it. They're so little and so perfect and so complete, and so completely unaware of the world around them. Today I got to hold Brett and Abigail's new little Emmaline.

A new family is born...yay!

Tell us not to do it

The other day Brian mentioned a potential gift idea for Katy for Christmas: fish. Either a goldfish in a bowl variety or an aquarium. Next door to the grocery store that I like is a pet store and aquarium. I've gotten into the habit of popping over there for a few minutes before we go to the grocery if we have time, because Katy loves it. She probably likes it even better than the zoo at this point, because the animals are closer and and she can see them and even pet some of them. She loves the fish. She walks up and down the aisle, pointing to every tank and saying, "fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy..." If any animal in the cage isn't moving, she puts her head up against it and says, "ni, night."

So does anyone have any experience owning fish? We had a tank when I was a kid, but I don't remember the upkeep. I just don't want to get into a situation where you are constantly putting money into it, or you have to find someone to come and feed them everytime you go out of town (we travel alot, as you may have noticed). And what's the deal with bowl vs. aquarium? Do the fish in the bowl just not require the air pump or something? Why do they get the short end of the stick?

Happy Birthday, Katydid!

Back on October 27th, this blog turned a year old. I was half aware of it, but I was out of town and didn't have time to look up some of the stuff I wanted to put on here to commemorate it. And tonight, I'm all depressed because the Buckeyes just lost their chance at the championship, so I might as well focus on something else. (But in all seriousness, no one expected the Bucks to be number 1 going into this season, so we had a good run. Now we gotta go on the road to play...*shudder*...Michigan.)


Here are some stats about Katydid's first year:
(note: for statistical purposes, October = October 27-31, 2006 & October 1-26, 2007)

Number of posts in the first year: 113

Least posts in one month: September '07 - 5 posts

Most posts in one month: May '07 - 14 posts

Average number of posts/month: 9.4

Average time between posts: 3.3 days

Post with the most comments: Check out Katy's new shirt: 8 comments

Number of posts without any comments: 28


Some of Katydid's firsts:


First post, October 27th, 2006:

Okay, so I see this Sonic commercial on TV, it goes something like this:
Guy: I'm gonna put something on my blog about this milkshake, I think the readers would really like to hear about it.
Wife: You mean your mom?
Guy: Yeah, she's one of the readers.
Wife: I think she's THE reader.
Guy: Well, she said she was gonna tell her neighbor about it, so....

And I'm cracking UP, and I think, you know? I think I want to start a blog. Pam and Kelsey have one for their babies, and I love checking in on them. So Mom, if you're the only reader, ENJOY!! If anyone else checks in, bonus!

So for now, I'm just gonna see if I can post a picture, but I think it will be fun to keep a journal of life with my funny little 5 month old.


First photo, October 27th, 2006:

First links, November 12, 2006: Jack's blog, Beat Michigan Week, 2006

First video, January 15, 2007: (there was only a link, I hadn't figured out how to put it directly into the post yet)

Some of Katydid's favorite posts (according to feedback to the author):

Thank you, Stadium Hat!, November 19, 2006

All bundled up, December 7, 2006

OT clinic from IKEA, March 5, 2007

One exciting milestone and one scary one, April 5, 2007

Movie review - as if I know, May 31, 2007

A lesson learned, August 10, 2007

First comparison, October 5, 2007



Here's to another good year of blogging!!

It's a good day for a meme...

Jen tagged me for another meme... I've been working on this one here and there for several days...

What were you doing ten years ago?
1) Taking gross anatomy (yes, real cadavers)
2) Living in a town house with 3 guys and 3 girls (we had separate bathrooms, thank goodness)
3) Doing step aerobics 4 times a week
4) Walking 30 minutes each way to class everyday (no car)
5) Learning how to eat without a dining hall pass

What were you doing one year ago?
1) Finally catching my breath from becoming a mom
2) Starting a new part time job
3) Remodeling our kitchen
4) Going to a young mom's Bible study
5) Helping Katy learn to sit up

Five snacks you enjoy:
1) Wheat thins and colby jack cheese
2) kettle popcorn
3) BBQ Baked Lays
4) chocolate chip cookies and milk
5) a bowl of cereal

Five Songs you know the lyrics to:
1) hakuna matata
2) Sin Wagon by the Dixie Chicks
3) many songs from Moulin Rouge
4) Fast Cars and Freedom by Rascal Flatts
5) Billy Jean by Michael Jackson

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1) Give a lot to the church/charities/good causes
2) Buy a nice house in a fun community with good schools
3) And hire a decorator and a chef
4) Stock Brian's new garage with top of the line tools
5) Buy a vacation house where our families can get together often

Five bad habits:
1) Getting fast food for lunch
2) Impulse buys
3) Staying up too late
4) Checking my email too often
5) Automatically turning the TV on after dinner

Five things you like to do:
1) shop on craigslist.com
2) bargain hunt
3) read magazines
4) visit family
5) relax with Brian and Katy

Five things you will never wear again:
1) poufy bangs
2) pegged jeans
3) a bikini (not that I wore alot of these before)
4) Umbros when I'm not playing sports
5) hi-top sneakers

Five favorite toys:
1) this laptop
2) my digital camera
3) Katy
4) my cell phone (and bluetooth headset)
5) my video monitor

Five things you hate to do:
1) Clean the bathtub/shower
2) Decide what's for dinner
3) Balance the budget (that's why Brian does it)
4) Take long car trips with a toddler
5) Go to the grocery with a toddler

I'm supposed to tag someone else to do this, but since I just tagged everyone I know for six things a couple weeks ago, I'll just leave this one open. If you'd like to do it - consider yourself tagged!

P.S.

You may have noticed that I changed the look of the blog. The jury's still out, though. Brian suggested that I change it, but I'm not completely sure that this is the look I want to settle on.

Also, I added a poll in the right hand column. I thought it would be fun to see what people think the baby's gender is before we (hopefully) find out next Friday. So you can vote right up until the appointment!

Happy Birthday, Brian!

Brian's birthday cake - red velvet with raspberries. I even made the icing from scratch!

Today is Brian's 33rd birthday. We were able to get Aunt Mel to babysit last night, so we went out to dinner and went to see Transformers (obviously Brian's choice). And as much I was sure I wouldn't like it, it was acutally pretty good. I mean, predictable and a little cheesy in parts, but it was funny and the effects were cool. Plus I was surprised how much I remembered about those little boy toys from the 80's. When the purple semi-truck pulled up, I was thinking, "hey, that looks familiar...oh yeah, Optimus Prime....it all comes back to me."

So here's a few pics of my husband to celebrate the beginning of his 34th year. I appreciate every day that I have with him!

You can take the boy out of Ohio, but you can't take Ohio out of the boy.

Crazy Uncle Brian

Resting with newborn Katy

Jason and Brian celebrate another Buckeye victory over Michigan!

Christmas 2006

Singing Happy Birthday to Daddy at our life group dinner this week. Happy 33rd, Brian!

Baby news!!

Our friends Brett and Abigail from lifegroup had their baby yesterday! I had heard through the grapevine that they had gone to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning, so by early afternoon I was expecting to hear some news...and by early evening I was getting a little nervous...by late evening I was downright worried. Finally I thought about checking their blog...and lo and behold Brett was texting from the hospital right to the blog! So we were able to get updates about Abigail's long and laborious journey to parenthood. Then we got a text shortly before midnight: go see pics of Emmaline Grace!!

Actually, while I'm talking about Brett's blog, he had a really good post recently about how to subscribe to feeds of blogs that you check regularly, and how to get updates emailed to you, etc. It was so helpful that I thought I might put a link to it on here.

In other baby news...guess what today is? The halfway point of my pregnancy. Can you believe it? (Well, ok, even though 20/40 weeks is halfway, technically you aren't really pregnant for the first 2 weeks and you don't even know until you're 5 weeks, but according to medical terminology, I'm halfway). It's going so fast, and hearing about Brett and Abigail's new little one is starting me thinking about the whole newborn thing. Yikes...am I ready to do this again? I guess I better be. I have my ultrasound next Friday!!

Storytime

About a month ago we went to toddler storytime at the library. Even though she was a little shy of the 18 month age minimum, she was definitely too old for the baby laptime. After going to the baby storytime, I was surprised to see how organized the whole thing was. There was a theme, several stories, songs with actions, a craft, and a snack. Along with an expectation to sit and listen - HA! So I Katy was much more interested in running around talking to the other kids and grabbing the books off the shelf. So I didn't run back the next week...

But today we tried it again, and I don't know what developmental milestone she reached this month, but it was a completely different experience! She was interested in the stories, participating in the sing-alongs, and actually sitting when she was supposed to sit! I was so proud of my little girl! Here she is with her "paper." Today's lesson was all about bears and honey and bees.

Then on the way home we stopped to vote, and guess who was waiting in the parking lot? The mayor himself, shaking my hand and asking for my vote. I was laughing to myself all the way to the polls...

Smartie Party

I'm in the midst of a Smartie Party. Back when I was in college, the students in PT & OT majors would often study in groups for big exams. One night I went to study with one of my friends and she greeted me with a large bag of Smarties. "What's this?" I inquired. "How do you expect to be smart if you don't have a Smartie Party while you study?" she laughed. By the end of the night, our physics books were surrounded by 2 piles of empty wrappers, and I felt much smarter. Today, the Halloween candy was on clearance at Target. I don't have an exam to study for, but I figured, what's the harm of having a Smartie Party?

Katy, apparently, has been having a Smartie Party of her own behind my back (as evidenced by her braininess - notice her hamming it up at the end of the video).

Just like Mommy

If you ever wondered where my addiction to Diet Coke came from, it must be genetic: my Dad had to stop on his way home from the football game to get his obligatory 44 ouncer... and look who couldn't get enough...

Also, Grammy brought Katy some new boots. Ever since, every time I say, "Time to go outside, get your shoes!" she brings me the boots. It looks like she has my fashion sense, too. (i.e. I get one cute thing and want to wear it with everything, whether it matches or not)

Also, thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. I do feel a little better about it, I think it's an anxiety thing, but I'm definitely going to bring it up at our appointment.

Nervous Mommy Alert

I keep debating about whether or not to write about this, but it's really on my mind today, and I'm supposed to post everyday, so... I wouldn't know what else to post about. Plus maybe I'm hoping for some reassurance.

Recently we were returning home from a road trip and stopped at Wendy's for lunch. We were sitting there, Katy happily eating oranges and cheeseburger, when all the sudden I looked over at her panicked. She was staring blankly at the floor, totally silent, and was kind of slouching forward. I tapped her and said, "Katy, are you ok?" and she whispered, "yeah". But I said, "Look up at mommy." No response, small attempt to look up with her eyes. Then for the freaky part: I lunge forward and grab her out of her chair, and she's all slouched over, not reaching up with her arms or responding to my touch. I put her in my lap and start (freakishly) stroking her face and saying, "What's wrong, are you ok?", and finally she starts to sit up and act normally. Within a minute she was completely fine. Because of my somewhat medical background, I tend to overreact to things, but my first thought was...I'm scared to even say it: seizure. I've seen many kids have seizures and this was not completely out of the question. But then I noticed a guy sitting at the next table who had been waving and making faces at Katy. He somewhat resembled our pediatrician (of whom Katy is terrified), and I thought, hmmm...I wonder if she was just really scared of him?

Well, since this incident, this has happened several more times, but all in situations in which she could've been frightened: a stranger walks quickly into the room and enthusiastically approaches her, a large kangaroo at the petting zoo got a little too close, and then today, today was the worst.

We went to BW3's to watch part of the OSU game. (Stupid Time Warner and Big Ten Network have conspired with the local bars so that no one can see the game without going out). This didn't go well last year with Katy, but I really did not think it would be a problem this year. Well, we were inside for about 2 minutes, the Buckeyes scored, the entire restaurant erupted in cheers, and Katy lost it. First she did her silent slump forward, then she screamed so hard for me, and when I picked her up she was actually convulsing, crying so hard. She couldn't be distracted, so after a couple minutes I took her outside. I got her calmed down enough to drive home, and then she was fine.

So we have a well visit in a couple weeks, and of course I will ask the pediatrician about it then. But I guess my question is: is this normal toddler anxiety? Or are her fears triggering something more serious? Is that possible? It sends me into a tizzy (how in the world do you spell "tizzy"?) when she does it. I just love this little girl so much, I'm so scared that something bad will happen to her. This is the cross a parent bears, I guess.

Favorite Over-the-Top Baby Item

Recently I've been thinking about baby items, and having to dig out all of Katy's old stuff, and I was thinking about my relationship with my favorite baby item: my video monitor.

If your first child was born before 2004, I know what you are thinking: "Oh my gosh, (exaggerated eye roll) a video monitor? Isn't that a little excessive? When my kids were little, we didn't have monitors at all, let alone video monitors." Actually, you may be thinking that even if you have young children. At first, so did I. We had registered for a regular monitor, and it was one of the (very few) things that we didn't receive as a gift. Before we went to buy one, my neighbor (mom of three) said, "I know it seems crazy, but I love the video monitor. I really think it's worth the extra money." So we took her advice, and we splurged a little.

That extra money was worth it to me, because this product gives me one thing: peace of mind. Because our house is so vertical, I am almost never on the same floor as my daughter when she's in her crib. The nursery is on the 2nd floor. So if I'm awake, I'm downstairs. But if I'm asleep, I'm in the attic where our bedroom is. There is nothing better than rolling over in the middle of the night and being able to see my baby girl sleeping soundly from my nightstand. Otherwise, I know I would be constantly running downstairs to check on her. Or when she was little and we were teaching her to go to sleep on her own, she would fuss here and there, but I could look at her and see that nothing was wrong (she wasn't stuck between the rails or sitting in her own bodily fluid or anything), which really helped me to be able to stay away and let her settle herself down. Also, ever since she gave up her morning nap, I let her play with toys in her crib while I take a shower. I can take the monitor into the bathroom with me and keep an eye on her pretty easily. See? Countless uses! I know my neighbor uses it with her older kids to make sure they are staying in bed when they are supposed to. Brian jokes that we'll use it when she's 16 to make sure she isn't sneaking out. Ha! Nothing gets past us!

But I must admit that even though I have this nice monitor, I still sneak into her room every night before I go to bed to make sure her little chest is rising and falling. I don't know if I'll still be doing that when she's 16, but it's a mother's prerogative for now.

Happy Halloween to Ewe!!

Since we didn't do anything with Katy for Halloween last year, I was really excited to put together a costume for her and do some serious Halloweening this October. I thought pretty much any animal would be a good idea, since she loves them, knows all their sounds, etc. My mom offered to make Katy a costume, and I don't think I could have imagined this cuteness.

Katy had 3 different opportunities to dress as a lamby this October...

The debut was at the MOMS Club Halloween party in early October. She was so hot by the end...

Then our neighbor Brooklyn (born the same day as Katy) invited us to a nearby nursing home for trick or treat and a party

Our little lamby was a big hit with the residents

Finally October 31st was here... Grandpa stopped by to see her costume before we headed off.

We worked for an entire month to teach her to say "baaa". She had it down by the end.

Once again, we went with Brooklyn, Katy's BFF. She learned quickly to reach out for candy at each house. She said "dat doo" in response about half the time.

By the time we reached our final destination (Aunt Mel's house), our little lamby was exhausted. I can hardly wait to see what she dresses as next year!

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween as well. Be sure and check back tomorrow, because it's officially NaBloPoMo!