Charleston

Where should we stay? Where should we eat? Does need to be downtown, and does not need to be kid-friendly!

Reflections on motherhood

Motherhood has humbled me. I remember rolling my eyes when friends said they couldn't meet us for dinner after 7PM because it was bedtime. Couldn't they keep the kid out later? Now I understand. Childless coworkers were complaining recently about moms who block grocery store aisles with the giant racecar shopping carts. Childless me would have complained, too. Now I understand. You can't push the cart next to the food, or your child will grab everything. I no longer judge women scolding their children in Target, because I have no idea when they last slept longer than 5 hours in a row, whether they have eaten in the last 24 hours, or when they last got to go to the bathroom alone. I've become more empathetic and sympathetic and learned some lessons.

As soon as you cross the doctor's office threshold with your sick child, she will begin smiling, waving, and laughing, and the fever will disappear.

If you need your child to take a nap, she will not. If you need your child to wake up from a nap, she will not.

Avoid wearing dark colors when your child has a cold.

People who tell you their babies slept through the night at 8 weeks old are lying...or they slept through the crying, or they drugged their babies.

Roll up your child's sleeves before you let her feed herself blueberry pancakes. Really, just roll up her sleeves before you let her feed herself anything. Or, just take off her shirt.

The farther in advance you make the plans, the sicker your child will be when the event rolls around.

In hindsight, having a plan is funny.

Everything stains. Water stains.

Just throw away the really dirty clothes.

You will never find the missing baby sock, so stop looking.

Don't spend much on toys.

A bath will turn around even the worst day.

What would you add to this list?

One

The day in pictures . . .

Waking up. The singing maybe was too much.

Strawberry muffins for birthday breakfast

Photo shoot before school
Going home from school
Visiting the neighbors who made her a happy birthday sign
and gave her a cute outfit
Out for a birthday pizza dinner--turned around to watch everyone and wave

Eggplant, sausage, spinach pizza--yum!
Back home for cake. Her own little cake.
Happy birthday to you...
Your singing was superb!
Goodnight

Letter to the sweetest girl in the world

Dear Mary Lawton,

I remember waiting and waiting and waiting for you to get here, talking to you in my belly, telling you that we were ready to meet you, and being so excited that you were joining the family.

Now 365 days with you have passed and I'm overwhelmed with joy and love. My heart feels full to bursting. I can't imagine life without you.

You are so spunky, funny, and sweet. You give the sweetest hugs and share the most heart-warming smiles. You are such a friendly girl, and I hope you always remember that a smile and a wave go a long way. You already make so many friends wherever you go.

Know how much you are loved. Find happiness in every day. Be true to yourself. Be kind to others.

Happy birthday.

Interview with a one-year-old

What is your favorite toy? Anything that's not a toy, like boxes, bags, bowls, cups, spoons, remotes, phones, watches, shampoo bottles, socks, paper, etc.

What is your favorite food? That's tough, but probably cheese. I like it on a grilled sandwich, melted on toast, on pizza, and just plain. I've had lots of different kinds and like them all.

What is your favorite book? Time for Bed, My Big Cuddly Book of Animals, Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, and Babies: God's Precious Gifts

Would you say you're a mama's girl or daddy's girl? Mama's girl

What are some things you like to do? Ride in the stroller, wave at people, take a bath, push the buttons on the microwave, push anything that looks like it might be a button, flip light switches, touch Coqui and Moe, try to catch Moe, crawl very fast to the refrigerator when it's open and pull things out, open drawers, and swing at the park

Who is your favorite teacher? Miss Sonia

What are some of your greatest skills? Crawling, pulling up, cruising, walking while holding on to a toy or person, clapping my hands, playing peek-a-boo, opening and closing things, following simple instructions from Mama and Daddy, pulling all the toilet paper off the roll, pointing at things I want, and moving my hands to "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

What has been your best day so far? Probably the day I got to swing at the park for the first time. Also, I really liked when we went to the beach and I got to crawl in the sand. That was fun. My first day was pretty good, too.

What a weekend

Mary Lawton's birthday bash was supposed to be Saturday. At 10 AM we decided to cancel, since we really weren't sure how bad the roads would be later. I was very disappointed--mainly because there was a pretty adorable, homemade, large birthday cake that would be wasted.
We decided to reschedule for next Saturday. We went for a long morning walk, watched the neighbors make a snowman, ate huge bowls of homemade and really delicious macaroni and cheese, which also was for the party, and (finally) laughed over having to cancel Mary Lawton's first birthday party due to snow. I never guessed that would happen.

A pinkeye/ear infection combo was going around daycare last week, and we thought she'd been spared...but we were wrong. The eye gunk appeared Saturday afternoon, and the middle-of-the-night ear infection screaming came Saturday night. So, it was good that we canceled the party. To celebrate Valentine's day, we exchanged cards, candy (to Sweet LJ), and running shorts (from Sweet LJ); went out for breakfast and dinner; and in-between we got in to see the doctor during their super-secret Sunday hours. Mary Lawton is on an antibiotic and already seems so much better.

We're looking forward to Tuesday and to another try on Saturday.

Nudie

Ah, how liberating it is to play without clothes.

February 6: 11 months, 3 weeks old

Snow day

It snowed about 4 inches today. It is beautiful. We went for a walk in the snow, since it's not too often we get to walk in the snow. And yes, we still have white lights in our cherry tree. We haven't turned them on since Christmas, but we did today because it looked so magical.