The Park Potential

I took Anna to the park this afternoon for the first time. We had a house showing so I needed to get out of the house and wasn't sure what to do. I found the park online and it turns out it is about 5 minutes from our house.

So why not?

It was a cute little place. Some open fields, swingsets, horseshoe pits, jungle gym, trails.

All gravel. Or sand.

Not great for a stroller. I would have carried Anna, but a muscle in my back was spasming. We made our way to a picnic table and chilled for about half an hour. It was a slightly overcast day - not too hot, not too cold.

There was a nice open field I debated walking through with her and laying in the grass (it looked awesomely soft). I was almost ready to go when I saw a man drive up and get out. With his two dogs.

And take them to the field.

Where they proceeded to do their business.

Apparently this park doubles as a dog park.

Awesome.

Although Anna didn't seem to mind. She rocked the shades. :)

The Baby Pool Excitation

One of the coolest things about Anna is that she will have a brand new cousin in the next few weeks! It is my husband's sister, and we are all incredibly excited for her!

Me especially.

I feel much more excited than I did for the birth of our nephew three years ago. I think it makes a difference once you are actually a mother. A BIG difference. Not that I don't love my nephew, but having your own really does change your perspective!

Anyhoo, for our nephew we had a baby pool (Anna didn't have one) and his sister is having one too. For Patrick's we all emailed in our guesses for the date and gender.

Apparently after three years things are a lot more high tech.

Like they have websites for that crap now.

And it doesn't just record dates and genders. You can put in your predictions for eye color, weight, hair color, length, etc. And when the baby is born, this thing will CALCULATE who is the winner.

Um, AWESOME!

Although statistically I don't stand a chance. My father in law has won the last two baby pools.

Except that his pick was for today.

And no baby has come.

BOOYAH!

Homemade ice cream here we come!

P.S. Homemade ice cream is the best prize ever.

P.P.S. The baby pool website is babyhunch.com.

P.P.P.S. Stay tuned for the actual winner! (hopefully me)

The Bird Annihilation

Today was the first time I ever biffed a bird.

And by biffed, I mean hit with a car. As in avian vehicular manslaughter.

Two little sparrows flew down into the road this morning, and I didn't have time to dodge or swerve. I checked my mirror and saw nothing in the road. I thought I was safe. Until I came back to my car after work and saw this:

Poor little guy.

It's much worse when you're a mommy. I cried for at least ten minutes.

I've done enough damage for one day. It's time for bed.

The TV Show Duality

Recently I've been trying to be sensitive to what Anna watches. Since we don't have cable, I've been stuck with our Roku and three months of rewatching all of LOST.

And then I found the kids channel.

And then my husband found it.

LET THE EPIC BATTLE BEGIN.

You see, when I leave the room, he turns on Arthur.

I don't particularly care for Arthur. I'm more a fan of Super Why and Blue's Clues (yes, even though Steve is kinda creepy Anna LOVES the singing - she also has a love affair with Drew Carey from the Price is Right....).

When he leaves the room, Blue Clues dominates.

Thank goodness she's too young to follow the storyline....right?

The Bassinet Substitution

I mentioned that recently Anna has had trouble sleeping like she used to.

It might have been teething. It might have been the heat.

Since we've had four 90+ degree days in a row, and Anna's room isn't air conditioned, my husband and I thought we might try an experiment.

To let her sleep in our bed, in a bassinet, with us.

This is the first time we have let her do this.

Like, ever.

How did it go?

She had trouble falling asleep. So in our parenting wisdom by sheer dumb luck we turned on the ceiling fan, which combined with my iPhone flashlight, lulled her to sleep.

And she slept straight on through, with a minor pitstop at 4 AM for 3 ounces of milk.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

And I have to say, it was SO sweet to have all three of us in bed together. It just felt like a fun family thing to do. When she dozed off, my husband and I slowly and carefully crawled our way back into bed like stealth ninjas and fell asleep too!

Turns out, she's just like her father. He overheats easily, and she seems to be the same furnace he is. Sleeping in the A/C seemed to do the trick!

Best night ever. : )

The Teething Postulate

We are unsure if Anna is teething.

We aren't sure because she has gone from happy baby who sleeps practically through the night to tiny crazy person who wears a diaper and screams bloody murder at two hour intervals.

She has become a grouchy drooling maniac.

She wants to be held ALL THE TIME.

She has slept awful for two nights. And for yesterday's finale, she barfed all over me. All five ounces.

On the bright side, not a drop got on the couch. I caught it all in my pajama top and bra.

Or maybe it's the heat.

Thank God our new house will have central air....

The Sister Aggravation

I want to punch my sister in the face.

End of story.

Ok, fine, let's backtrack and see how I came to this shocking (or not so shocking) conclusion.

The four or us have always gotten along pretty well managed to get along. In past years we have found enjoyment playing beach volleyball during our annual family beach vacation. Eventually this led us to play recreationally with sports in our area (the most epic being soccer but most successful volleyball).

It's nice to see my siblings and spend time with them. I look forward to it, especially now that I can play again after having Anna.

Except this week. I go to the game and my sister M was there. First thing she says:

"Why didn't you have D bring Anna?"

Right. Cause hauling a 3 month old to a rec volleyball game at 7:00 at night seems like good parenting. Her bedtime is 8:00, and I'm sure my husband just wants to sit there watching for a whole hour.

Uh, no?

As we warmed up, somehow the conversation got into whininess and how annoying it is. Then my sister says:

"You should hear E, she's a whiner. Especially when she's pregnant."

Excuse me?

First, as a pregnant woman at the time, I am entitled to bitch my way through all 9 months if I so choose. M has never been pregnant, and therefore believes it is her right to judge me as her body has never been the subject of a foreign hostile takeover by an alien-like being. Why should I be allowed to whine about morning sickness, swollen feet, sore back, general discomfort, kicks got the ribs, or the fact that my boobs can't be touched for a least a year?

Second, I am pretty sure the night my husband and I got engaged, and every family gathering thereafter she has asked when I was going I give her a niece or nephew. So shut your piehole about a few gasps of surprise at being drop kicked in the spleen from the inside out. You got what you wanted - say THANKS.

And third, WTF? What the hell did I ever do to you? Oh, that's right, I gave you the niece you wanted. And P.S.: if my own husband fathoms at the fact that I don't complain about my 2 hour commute to work, you really expect me to believe I was a "whiner" through my whole pregnancy?

I might have been a winer. Maybe.

If I drank wine.