Counting

Marissa can now count to 20, and hearing her say all the "teens" makes me smile every time. I think I need to get it on video.
"one, two, pee, foh, pive, sic, seven, ay, nine, ten, leven, elve, tir-teen, fur-teen, fi-teen, uh-teen, uh-teen, uh-teen, ni-teen..." actually I don't think she even says 20. Lol.

I got another part-time job! I will be working a few nights a week, and probably every other Saturday at a massage place nearby. I'll be their evening receptionist, doing some filing, and checking people in and out of their appointments. It's dimly lit, and they play "massage music" and it's going to be so relaxing to work there! I started with some training on Thursday, we have a scheduling meeting on Saturday, and then I start next week! I'm excited, but really nervous. I haven't had a "real" job in 2 years when I quit a job at the daycare cuz I was punched in the face by a 4 year old and was pregnant, sick, and moody. Lol. All the jobs I've had since did not include an application, contract, tax forms, or anything else. I'm not really worried about the actual job, just worried about being gone in the evenings. Away from Marissa, and losing that time to do things around the house (ha, I mean losing that time to watch my evening shows and relax). I'm still working every day 9-1 at my nanny job, but I'll still have my afternoons while Marissa sleeps, and then Marissa time before Dan gets home to let me leave around 4:30. I think my hours end at 9, so I'll still have some time when I get home too. Overall, not too bad, and it'll be nice to get some extra spending money. When I was training, I was worried that Marissa would freak out, since I'm hardly ever gone from her. But I guess she only asked about me a few times! It was busy enough that I didn't have time to wallow, but when I got home and Dan and Rach were telling me about their evening, I was sad that I missed it. I'm such a wimp! I guess my big girl is bigger than I realized!

Guess that's all. I'm trying to remember to post here more often, instead of on my other blog. I guess you could go there if you want www.xanga.com/rccalyn. But it's mostly protected so only people on my list can read recent posts. Time to go figure out what's for dinner tonight! Yay, it's FRIDAY!

Some things I want to remember:

• Marissa knows so many words, and comes up with new ones every day. Yesterday morning, when it was just the two of us up nice and early, she asked me to hold "this part" of something so she could hold the rest. But what is even cuter than actually knowing all the names of things, is when she points to something, says "this?" and clearly needs to know the name of it!
• At work, we watch Blue's Clues every morning during M's bottle. It occupies H so he doesn't beat up Rissa when I can't defend her as easily, and gives them a little something to look forward each morning. Marissa doesn't really pay attention very well - she prefers The Backyardigans, The Wonder Pets, Ni hao Kai lan, or Dora. So she just plays around the living room while H sits in his "thinking chair." So imagine my surprise when suddenly, Thursday afternoon, after her nap, she found a piece of cardboard, and immediately started singing "We just got a letter" and shaking the "letter" back and forth in front of her, exactly like the guy does on Blue's Clues. She was grinning, and when I realized what she was imitating, I started laughing, and she thought she was just so funny!
• Yesterday morning she was standing next to me and started coughing a little. After two coughs that weren't helping, she turned around, showing her back to me, and managed to grunt out "pat me" before she started coughing again. I patted her back, and she stopped coughing. LOL.
• I always wear a hooded zip-up sweatshirt at work. I'm always cold, even in my own home, so I'm even colder in someone else's house where I don't control the heat. Apparently I put my hands in the pockets often, because now every time Marissa wears a hooded zip-up sweatshirt, she puts her hands in the pocket and walks around like she's so cool, giving me a little smirk cuz she knows she's imitating her Mama.
• She can now count to 20 all on her own, give or take a few numbers here and there. She especially loves to count all the M & M's in my The M & M's Counting Book I bought in college.
• We're working on the ABC's, especially at work with H too. Both of them can fill in a missing letter most of the time, especially if it's at the end of a phrase.
• When Dan and I had the 2s & 3s class at church last week, I randomly asked a girl how to spell her name, not really expecting an answer. She surprised me by singing the cutest little song, with the spelling of her name being the first part, and the last phrase was "spells (insert name) every day." It just rhymed so well and was so cute that I had to come up with a "Marissa song" too. So now every night, before we sing Twinkle, Twinkle, we sing the "Marissa song" - M-A-R-I-S-S-A, spells Marissa every day (to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, or some other random tune that helps her fill in a letter). She now requests it, and can sing most of it with us.
• She got a Bible story book from my parents for her birthday, and we've been reading a story in it every night before bed. She now requests "Gog" = God, since we started at the beginning obviously, and learned about how God made everything.
• Yesterday morning, she picked the crumbs off her chair (underneath her booster seat for meals), and one by one, brought them over to me to show me. And when I told her they were trash, she took them one by one to the trash can.
• After she cleaned all the crumbs off, she put her baby in her seat, put a bib on baby, and proceeded to feed baby a bottle. She has only learned about bottles recently, since I nursed her forever and she never took a bottle. She's been watching me feed M a bottle at work, and in the 2s class at church, all the older girls were fighting over the only bottle in the room. So the other day, when we walked into Walmart, out of the blue, she started saying "baby bottle, please?" over and over again! How could I refuse? So I bought her two baby bottles.
• She is really into pretending with her baby, and her doll house. Her doll house is on her new table, sitting in the middle of her bedroom. She didn't used to have many toys up there, and the ones that were up there, she got sick of fast. So this new location for her doll house (that she got for Christmas) has really made her play with it more. Every morning, it's the first thing she sees, and the first thing she requests to play with. So after I change her diaper, while I'm washing my hands and throwing the diaper away in the bathroom, she plays with her doll house. Her soft voice babbling away is so cute to listen to. She talks about the mama, dada, and baby, and places them around the house. Usually the mama and dada are in the doorway. Lol.
  
• Since we watch Blue's Clues, H always has a zillion "notebooks" around his house, all with a crayon in the top. Marissa started obsessing over them as well, so for her birthday I got her a few from the dollar store. I put a crayon in each of them, and now she carries them around. She draws in them a little, but mostly asks other people to "draw Frissa."
• Haha, speaking of "Frissa" - that's how she still says her name. And when she's using it possesively, like "Marissa's car" she says it "Frissy's car." I will be sad when she learns to say her name properly. Frissy is just too cute!
• She mostly feeds herself now, even with a fork and spoon. But once in a while a food is just too messy for me to let her. But if someone is feeding her, she can only have a certain amount of food in her mouth at a time. If she thinks she's not ready for the next bite, she will say "wait" and finish chewing. Then, when she's ready, she'll say "ready!"
• If she's trying to do something, and someone is in her way, she says "mush" = move. Kinda reminds me of a dog sled in the snow.
  

Well, Dan's coming back from his brother's college graduation this afternoon, and we're going out to celebrate Mother's Day tonight. I think we're going to the Indian restaurant for our meal, then running over to Bravo for our favorite amazing dessert. Can't wait!

*Clarification on my previous post: I have left Marissa for a few hours or an evening. But not much longer than 2-3 hours, and not very often. Since my sister lives with us, she's a built-in babysitter, so we take advantage of that often, just not for long periods of time.

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On a serious note, this Mother's Day seems weird to me. My first Mother's Day, Marissa was only about 2 weeks old. Second, she had just turned 1. Now I am the mother of a 2 year old. But not ONLY a 2 year old. There are 2 babies in heaven that had the potential to be a part of our family. I could have been a mother of 2 children by now. Or expecting another child in July. But I'm neither of those. And I think I'll always remember March and July, and remember the possibilities. But for now, I am thoroughly enjoying loving my one and only daughter. She is such a joy, and I am blessed to be her mama. If we were in the throes of a newborn stage right now, or if I was hugely pregnant, I don't think I would be able to enjoy Marissa quite as much as I have been lately. So I'm taking comfort in that, and using it to convince myself that it really was the best path for my life to take. Even if it didn't seem like it at the time, and still doesn't sometimes. God knew what He was doing. But God? If you get this memo...My greatest fear is losing a (future) 3rd...

This week was nice. For the first time, I actually enjoyed working. H and Marissa have been getting along so well lately, and they just get cuter and cuter together every day. They offer each other toys, they take turns so well, they kiss each other's boo-boos, they help each other put shoes on, they help each other stand up after they've been playing "night-night", they roll cars back and forth and back and forth - they really are good buddies. H is still a little rough with her, but he's SO much better than he started out. And now Marissa can take it too. The baby (who I might sometimes call "M" - but that might get confusing since Marissa is an "M" too) is turning into such a happy girl, and is almost on the move. Boy, things will sure change when she starts crawling! She's finally taking good naps for me, so the "big kids" aren't always annoyed by our playing limitations when she's awake. But when she's awake, she's just a smiley, giggly girl!

This afternoon, Rissa and I left work and drove straight to the Newport Aquarium to meet Laureann (college roommate), her hubby, and their son "Baby Carter". Marissa had been talking about going to see the "pish and Baby Carter" allllllllllllllll week. For the first 15 minutes or so, she didn't even notice the fish, she was too excited to see Carter, see his stroller, kiss him, walk to him, etc. Lol. It was so cute to watch her, and he grinned the cutest grin at her every time. She LOVED the fish too, and every time we walked around a corner to see more fish, she would scream "MORE PISH!!!!!" and all the veins in her neck would pop out because she was so excited! She made her fishy face a lot too. I took my camera, but it was basically impossible to take any pictures of her, since I was her only adult - and we went STROLLER-FREE! But I think Laureann got a few good ones, so hopefully she'll be able to send them to me soon (HINT, HINT). I debated long and hard about the stroller. For some reason, she gets so excited to ride in a stroller these days. But I thought it would be difficult for her to see the fish in it, and I didn't think she'd last the whole way in it, and then I'd be left pushing it AND trying to hold her hand. So I took the risk - and she was INCREDIBLE! She held my hand the whole time! I ended up picking her up for every exhibit window because they all started just above her head. But the signs (telling what the fish were called) were the perfect height for her to stand on, so she could see perfectly. I definitely got my workout though, by picking her up and putting her down, over and over and over and over again! But it was so much fun! She even held a tiny cup for a bird to drink out of! And then we got peed on! Lol. We all went out to dinner after, and Marissa didn't eat much, and was "all doh (done) me" before we even got our food. But she was still VERY well behaved considering the circumstances. I'm so proud of my big girl!

Well, I will probably go to bed early. I'm wiped! And since Dan is gone, I have to wake up early with Marissa all weekend, instead of taking turns sleeping in.

*EDIT* I almost forgot to mention: I filled out an application and had an interview for a part-time evening receptionist at a massage therapy center in the area. Rach knew someone at work who said they were looking, so it all happened really fast. It was the most relaxing, soothing environment I can ever imagine working in. I'll know Tuesday if I get the job or not. It would only be a few nights a week, and alternating Saturdays. But it would be nice to have some extra spending money. And it would be awesome to have some quiet time doing something different in the evenings. I'm still not sure how I'll feel about leaving Marissa for a few evenings, but I know she'll be fine with Daddy. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that the longest - and only - time I've been away from her for more than grocery shopping was when I went to a Josh Groban concert when she was 10 months old, and I was gone for 12 hours, most of which she was sleeping. I've just always taken her everywhere with me, but I guess sooner or later she'll need her space anyway! And I guess I need mine too.

2

I know, I know...it's been a while. But I've been busy. Marissa turned 2 this week! And last weekend my parents and Dan's parents were all here for a big party weekend. Lol. It was so much fun. Marissa got a bunch of awesome stuff for her birthday. I can't wait for the weather to be nice all the time, so she can ride her new tricycle up and down the sidewalk! We're also hoping to buy a swingset for our backyard, but man, they are expensive!

I can't believe my baby is 2! She's definitely not my baby anymore!

Stats from 2-year well check up on her actual birthday:
23 lbs (10th percentile)
33 3/4 inches (Dr. said "average")

He was pretty pleased with her weight gain, and I was surprised that her height was average. She just seems smaller than most 2 year olds that I've known. Everything checked out just fine. She had a finger prick check, and got a Dora band-aid. She didn't even whimper, because she saw the Dora band-aid. She was so obsessed with it, that by the time we got home, she had pulled it off!

Our weekend extravanganza was wonderful. It only took Marissa about 5 minutes to remember both sets of grandparents, and she even came up with different names for them, and figured out who goes with who! Granny = benny, Pop-pop, Grandma = Mum, Grandpa = Pop-pop. She calls both Grandpas Pop-pop, but knows which goes with Granny and Mum. That's confusing, lol, but she had it all figured out. She was so cute when she kept asking for certain grandparents if they left the room, and had to make sure she knew where everyone was at all times!

I made a zillion chocolate cupcakes Saturday morning, and Marissa was sooooo excited to eat some "TACO!" Chocolate and chapstick both sound like "taco" and I think she even knows what a real taco is. But she knew EXACTLY what chocolate was, and knew she wanted some! That's my girl!

My parents slept in the double bed in Rach's room, Rach slept in the twin bed in Marissa's room (with Marissa) and Dan's parents slept on the double futon in the finished basement bedroom. It was awesome that we could fit everybody, but when Marissa shares a room she doesn't sleep as well, or as late in the morning. Friday night around 1am she woke up crying pretty hard and coughing. Saturday she was a little off in the morning, and after her nap she was even more upset and miserable. It's either allergies or some weird cold that no one else has. Her nose is all nasty, and she has a weird little cough. We did the main party/presents Saturday after her nap, so she wasn't as excited as I expected her to be since she didn't feel very well. But she still enjoyed all the gifts, and had fun playing with them as she opened them. She was mostly in a good mood, and really did very well considering there were so many people around and she wasn't feeling well.

After reading some other blogs of parents with almost-2 year olds, and hearing what the grandparents had to say all weekend, I realized I am extremely lucky with her usual sleeping habits! This weekend was probably the first time she has been awake in the middle of the night since we really set down the rules for bedtime (I think it was in October?). She never cries to go to sleep. She never wakes up in the night. She sleeps from 8pm-7:30am every day, and naps for a hour and 20 minutes every day (at least, sometimes a little longer). She sometimes babbles in her crib before falling asleep, but never gets upset. She's just wonderful!

Sunday we went to church and out to lunch with Dan's parents (my parents left early that morning), so we didn't get back til way past Marissa's naptime. Once Dan's parents left, Marissa slept for a normal naptime. So did I. Haha. But when she woke up, she was so sad. I brought her downstairs, and she just cuddled with me for at least 20 minutes! We just sat on the couch and she hugged me, arms wrapped around my neck, head on my shoulder. It was wonderful. She hasn't cuddled that long since before she could walk! It was so sweet, and just what this mommy needed. I can't believe she isn't my little baby anymore!

Some of Marissa's new phrases are so funny. When she falls, or even pretends to fall, she always says "I fell me!" Also, we make a big point of taking turns at work, so now she's worried about taking turns all the time. Whenever she thinks it's her turn, she says "Frissa's turn!" That's how she says her name lately, and it just makes me laugh every time. She also says "Frissa's" whenever it's something that's hers, or she thinks it's hers. Frissa's car, Frissa's bed, Frissa's purple shoes, etc. It's so fun to watch her figure things out!

In other non-interesting news, my left bottom wisdom tooth decided that now would be a perfect time to grow in. I've been told many times that I need to have them all removed, but haven't got around to it. Plus, for some reason our dental insurance doesn't cover very much. My top wisdom teeth are in, and have been for a while. They don't hurt, but they're really hard to brush since they're so far back. But now that my bottom one is coming in, my inside cheek is all swollen, and I can't even bite all the way down. I've been biting my cheek for almost 2 weeks now, and it's KILLING ME! I feel like such a baby, but then, babies are miserable when they're teething, so then I don't feel so bad about complaining. Lol.

I guess that about covers everything. Sorry for the delay! This afternoon Marissa and I are going to visit with one of my high school friends at the college we both graduated from. I can't even remember the last time I saw her - 3 years ago or more? Should be fun!

I FOUND A COAT!

$94 at Macy's, on sale for 50%+20% or something like that, ended up being $37! Perhaps a bit overwhelming, but I LOVE it!

Venting

• Could someone please explain to me the current ridiculous fad of spring jackets-COATS with 3/4 length sleeves??? I mean, what next? Short sleeved winter coats? Example: here - WHY??? All I want is a cute jacket that I can wear over my long-sleeved light-weight shirts for all this warmer-but-still-cool weather! I have looked in every store I can think of! I DARE YOU to find me a cute spring jacket under $75 with long sleeves. Oh, that's the other thing - why do they cost $100, when you don't even get full sleeves?

• You may have noticed that I haven't been posting as much lately. Let me tell you why. When we moved here, and started finishing the basement, all our computers were put down there to use. You might remember that it was difficult for me to get time down there because it wasn't safe for Marissa to play down there. So Dan brought home a laptop from work (he sometimes has to work at home, so they provided it for that reason), and I've been using that as my computer since we moved. Well, a few months ago, the power cord started slowing dying, and there has never been any battery left on this old thing. So once the cord officially was useless, Dan and Timmy took the laptop completely apart, and installed another power-cord-hole (whatever it's called) to make the cord start working again. It's not an exact match to this computer, but it has worked fine. Well, within the past month, it stopped working fine. It can be fine, all plugged in, and just sitting there, no one touching it, when all of a sudden, it unplugs. Which, with no battery, will all of a sudden make the computer turn itself off. So I'm usually right in the middle of something, and then I have to completely restart the computer. Needless to say, this is definitely NOT ideal, and actually ticks me off pretty good. I've been known to slam the laptop shut (I know, since it's such a quality piece of equipment, I should probably be more careful - lol), and the other night I almost threw it out our back window. So that's why you don't, and won't, see me on here very often. Once the basement is finished (and we are getting close! The bedroom and bathroom will be completely done by this weekend, except for carpet!) I will be able to get on my real computer, and let Marissa play in her playroom! YAY! But in the meantime, I'm probably trying desperately to read your site, only to have to restart my computer every 3 sentences.

I guess that's all of the venting. Work is still going pretty well. We have been able to go outside and take long walks, since the weather has been so awesome. And it's great. It wears the kids out, and makes the time go faster. Next weekend, Dan's parents and my parents are all coming out here for Marissa's 2nd birthday party!!! I can't believe it! I've been working hard at finishing all the painting in the basement, and my back is still killing me! Next week I will be busy cleaning and getting everything ready for the party weekend. So the next time I post, I'll probably be a mother of a 2-year old! Don't worry though, Marissa has been getting in LOTS of practice as a 2-year old!

The best/worst word in the toddler language, and other random tidbits

Marissa and H (at work, 5 months older than Rissa) sit across from each other for lunch, each in separate toddler seats. The other day, I was in the kitchen getting their lunches together, and I could hear them in the dining room:

Marissa: Mine!
H: No, mine!
Marissa: No, mine!
H: No, mine!

I peeked around the corner, confused, because what could they be fighting over? They were simply yelling at each other over nothing. Lol. And they were both grinning and giggling at the same time.

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I think I've finally found a "referee" technique that works. It actually works pretty well too, since H and Marissa are so close in age, and they generally understand things at about the same level. H always wants whatever toy Marissa happens to grab first, so it's "Marissa's turn" until she puts it down. They are not allowed to take a toy out of the others' hands. Either ask or wait til they're done. Same goes for Marissa. And the baby, M, as well (Well, I mean when H or Rissa wants something she's playing with, obviously not the other way around. Lol). So a kid will pick up something they want to play with, the other kid will scream across the room "MINE" and start running to retreive prized possesion, and before they even get there to smack down the other kid for said toy, I will stop them and remind them that it will be their turn when the other kid puts the toy down. Phew! I've always struggled when it comes to sharing toys between toddlers and how much/if at all to intervene. But I think this method is best for my sanity (less punching and pushing from the agressor - not Marissa by the way) and it's easy to be consistent, even if it's against my own daughter.

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Friday night, Dan, Jeremy, Timmy, and I went to a Skillet concert. Wow. Kinda left me speechless. I'm not really sure why I agreed to go, maybe because Dan specifically asked me to. Anyways, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was definitely not what happened! The two bands who opened for Skillet were really, um, hardcore? I don't even know how to describe them. Not really my type of music. But somehow I really enjoyed the night. It was waaaaay too loud (aren't all concerts that way?) and we had to stand most of the time, but I forgot how much I like the bass boom in music. Lol. But I don't think I'd go again if I knew what I was in store for. And it probably would have helped if I had known any songs by any of the bands. Lol.

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Rach and I primed the basement room (that Dan and Jeremy finished drywalling) yesterday. And today my back is painfully spazzing like crazy. Not a good sign. Especially since we need to finish priming tonight, and then we still have to actually paint it soon too. I am definitely a wimp. But it was sooooo fun to paint! I can't wait to paint the rest of our house!

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Anybody ever had Jamaican Jerk steak? On our honeymoon to St. Lucia, we ate at one of the restaurants at the resort almost every night, and I got the same thing every time - Jamaican Jerk pitas. Since then, we've been obsessed with that seasoning. We bought some down there to bring back with us, and it was just as good, but since that ran out, like 2 years ago, we've sadly missed it! We've tried numerous different bottles of "Jerk" seasoning from every store, but nothing even came close. Well, Dan found a recipe from a cooking show (don't ask, his thing, not mine!) and we tried it last week and it was complete heaven! It was the best steak I've ever had, and it was soooooo yummy and sooooo spicy - just perfect! And I'm not usually a steak person. But now I'm begging him to make it all the time! YUM!

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I guess that's all for now. I have Wednesday and Thursday off from work, and I'm excited. The weather here is finally WONDERFUL and SPRINGY! And that just makes the world a better place! Haha. So I can't wait to take Marissa outside to enjoy it. We went outside this morning, while the baby was sleeping, and H and Marissa ran all over their yard. But there wasn't much to do, so I'll have to figure something out. Also, if the baby isn't sleeping (or can nap in a stroller - need to ask) I want to take some walks around their neighborhood. It's really nice, and has an old charm to it. But I need tips on keeping both toddlers from racing into the road or a mile ahead of me with a stroller! Should be interesting, at least they both listen pretty well, and I expect it to only get better with time.

Wow, Marissa slept for 2.5 hours at naptime! Wooohooo!

Music and stuff

If my life was were could be a musical, I'd want the soundtrack to be the soundtrack from The Holiday. I love that movie, but the music in it just makes it 10x better. More dramatic. More emotional. Happier. Sadder. Better.

So I know us "young folk" are supposed to be all about new technology, but I must admit that even though Dan has an iPod, I didn't get one until Tuesday. I did not buy it, but a friend (Thanks Timmy!) gave it to me, since he no longer used it. After spending forever trying to figure out iTunes, I finally filled it up with my music and listened to it for the first time last night. I had forgotten how great music is. I used to listen to music allllllllll the time. But since getting married, living in a small apartment, and having Marissa, and especially with all the changes music has gone through in my lifetime (tapes, cds, now mp3s), I haven't listened to music (other than in the car) in years! Last night I listened to so many songs I hadn't heard in ages, and realized I need to get back into listening to music. It's so amazing to me that I can hear a song I haven't heard in 8 years, and still know all the words, all the melody/harmonies, and even the random background vocals! Lol. If you know me, you know I have the WORST memory possible, without actually having a disease. But I can still remember song lyrics from high school. I'm sure I'm not the only person this applies to, which makes it even more impressive that the human mind can contain so much, even if it is useless song lyrics!

In other news, I know I haven't been updating as often as I should. I've just been busy I guess. I work every day 9-1, so when I get home, I put Marissa to sleep and take some time for myself. Or do dishes. Lol. Lately Marissa's been pushing her naptime from 1:30 when we get home, to 2:30 today. I don't know if it's because she almost falls asleep in the car, then wakes up too much to fall back asleep right away. Or if she's just getting older and not needing a nap as early. But she's been babbling for 40 minutes, then whining for 5, then starts crying, so I have to go up and re-start the nap routine to get her back on track. It's pretty pitiful to watch/listen to her cry so hard for "down" when I know she just needs to lay down and she'll crash. Several days in a row, when I went back up, she got so mad that she just wouldn't lay down. I always ask her if she wants her blanket on, and she said no. But as soon as I would go to leave, she'd get hysterical because she wanted her blanket on! Too funny. At least she's still eventually sleeping. Thank heavens she's not in a big girl bed yet, so I can keep her contained in her crib!

On top of still being at a new job with Marissa, I have had a stupid cold/allergies for almost a week now. It's really getting old. My poor nose and throat are just killing me. Marissa has had a stuffy/runny nose too, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all. I've also been waking up with a stiff neck all week, I think because I've been carrying a baby around a lot at work, and I'm not used to that. Ouch. But work is as fun as work can be I guess. Marissa and H have so much fun together, when they're not fighting "MINE!!!" over any toy they see. Lol. Today at lunch, they were buckled in separate seats across the table from each other, and I still heard "MINE!" "NO MINE!" over and over while I made lunch. But they really play well most of the time. H has already learned a few of my rules, and although he doesn't always follow them, he always remembers the second I say something. I've been having trouble getting the baby, M, down for a nap the past few days, so she ends up sleeping in her swing. I know the mom doesn't care, but I really hope it doesn't start to become a habit, because it's annoying!

The other day I went shopping at Target. Definitely one of my weaknesses. Especially for Marissa. But she genuinely needed a spring jacket and a bathing suit, among other things, so here is what she got:



Two-pieces are necessary for her, since I have to buy it for waist size, instead of height. Lol. And I also expect to be potty training this summer. I was also looking for a spring jacket for myself, but didn't find A THING! In Kohl's, the only spring jackets they had were $100! The jacket I got Marissa also comes in khaki, and I really just want the same one in my size! Do you think OshKosh will help me out at all? Lol.

Well, Marissa woke up. Rachel (my sis who lives with us) is making dinner tonight (YAY!) so I just need to do some dishes. And I really need to go get my bloodwork done. I was supposed to have it taken 3 months after the last time (sometime after my miscarriage in December), and 3 months was the beginning of March. Oooops! Hopefully I'll have time today, and will finally stop forgetting!

Pregnancy, miscarriage, fertility, infertility, siblings, honesty, and JEALOUSY

This post has been brewing in my head for about a month, and it's time to get some things off my chest. I've been hesitant to write about all of this, because many of my friends are pregnant, or just had new babies. I want to say that I honestly am happy for all of you (I'll only say that once, but it will be true throughout this whole post). I still love to hear about the pregnancies, births, and new-baby life. But at the same time, I hate to hear about them, because I want it to be me. This may not be the best written post, and it might be a bunch of disjointed thoughts, but it's something I need to say.

I thought I was supposed to have a baby in March. When I miscarried in July/August, I knew for a week or so that it was probably going to happen. I was upset, but since we got pregnant so easily, I moved on quickly with plans for another baby as soon as possible. But since my second miscarriage in December, March didn't pass by as easily as I had expected. Babies have been born to moms that got pregnant around the same time I did. And it kills me inside to miss that for myself. June/July will be even harder than March has been, because I thought I was supposed to have a baby then as well. And it will kill me inside to miss that for myself. And Marissa.

I don't have any doubts that as soon as we start trying again, I'll get pregnant easily. But we are waiting for other reasons, and it's killing me inside. We've discussed it in great length, but it's best that we wait.

I also feel so guilty for that, because there are so many women who don't have that confidence. They've tried for months or even years, and still don't have a healthy child to show for it. What right do I have to complain about my perfectly wonderful (yet small) family?

My new job. Families I see in stores. Siblings on blogs I read. There are so many times I hurt inside because I want to give Marissa a sibling. When she turned 1, I realized that I wanted a small age difference, and even if I got pregnant right that second, it was going to be a bigger difference that I ideally wanted. Almost a year later, we are still no closer to having a sibling for her, and she's only getting older. To watch her with the 7 month old at my new job, I just know she would be THE PERFECT big sister. She's so gentle, giving kisses and hugs any time the baby even starts to whimper. She tells me to pick the baby up to make her feel better. She gives her toys, her pacifier, and even tried to give her her bottle once. She's been in love with every baby she's seen for at least 6 months.

I want to be pregnant. I want to feel a life growing inside me. I want to have 9 months of giddy anticipation. I want to ENJOY newborn life, because with Marissa I was so miserable breastfeeding at first, I don't even remember her first 4 months or so. I want to watch Marissa cuddle a tiny baby, and have that baby be ours. I want to watch Marissa grow up to be close to her siblings, in age and in love.

There were so many thoughts in my head, somehow I thought this post would be longer. But I guess that about sums it up. I am suffering from extreme jealousy and bitterness. I realize I have so much to be thankful for, but it's hard, when there's still so much that I want for our life. I'm doing better with it, but I still have a long way to go, and I'm not sure I'll ever be completely over it all. Somewhere, God has a reason for all this CRAP that I've gone through. But I'm still waiting to find that out.

Ketchup

Easter Weekend
My parents and brother Jeff arrived from NY Thursday night, and my grandparents from PA arrived Friday for dinner. We pretty much just sat around, talked, played with Marissa, and ate awesome food. But on Saturday the men went to some museum and the rest of us went to get Marissa's FIRST HAIR CUT! We went to one of those kid's places so Marissa got to sit in a car and watch The Wiggles while the lady took 2 seconds to snip Marissa's mullet off. Lol. It looked kinda weird at first, but after a bath it curled under, and looks pretty cute. We had so much fun with all the family here. Marissa loved everybody and had a blast. It's kinda funny, because she must have been so confused by all the grandparents and their names! She calls my mom "Mum!"(I called her "Mom" too often in front of her), my dad is "Pah-pah" but so were my grandparents, and she says "Pah-pah" the same way for Dan's dad too! As soon as they all left though, she was asking for every single one of them! This is how it went:

Rissa: "Mum? Pah-pah? Jep?"
Me: "They went to NY" or "They went to PA"
Rissa: "Me, Nyork"
Me: "You want to go to NY?"
Rissa: "Yeah!"
Me: "Me too"
Rissa: "Shoes?"

She really thought we'd be going! Poor girl. I wish we all lived closer. It was sad for everyone to leave, but my parents will be back for Marissa's birthday in a month, and hopefully Dan's parents will be able to come too. Oh, that reminds me, I need to go buy her the little bike from Walmart before they run out!

New Job
Monday was the first day of my new job. We got there a little before 9, and got home a little before 2. I wonder if she'll pay extra when she's late? Anyways, it wasn't too bad. The baby girl, M, is 7 months old and the boy, H, is 5 months older than Marissa. Marissa and H played well together most of the time. They pushed a dump truck back and forth forever. Both enjoyed throwing balls all over the place. But M was a tough baby today. She seemed pretty easy going when we visited last week, but today she just was not happy. It doesn't help that the mother doesn't have any sort of routine for her, she just said feed her when she's hungry and put her in her bed when she's tired. Hopefully once she gets to know me better, she won't be as grumpy. H was a little aggressive with Marissa, which I was expecting and prepared for. It made her scared of him for a few minutes each time he did something, but she got over it quickly. I think it will be good for Marissa to be a little rougher and tougher, but I won't let him hurt her. Marissa loved baby M. Every time she started crying, Rissa would run over to her and try to hug her. It was so cute, even though it made M cry even harder. Lol. The morning went by very slowly, but also quickly too somehow. The hardest part was lunch, because that was when M was the most grumpy, and I was scrounging around their kitchen for something Marissa might eat. H is a good eater, so hopefully that will rub off on Marissa a little bit! It was kinda annoying because they don't have very many clocks in their house, and every clock I saw had a different (wrong) time on it! So I had to carry around my phone in my pocket all morning so I had some idea of what time it was. All in all, though, it wasn't awful. And I suspect it might get better after a few days. I'm starting off by being very strict with H so he knows his limits! I have no desire to watch a boy that I've grown to hate because he won't listen to me! I think this job will be ok, as long as H learns I'm the boss, and as long as M starts liking me.

We got home from work at 2, and I rushed Marissa into her crib. She slept for over 2 hours, while I recovered from our crazy morning. Their house was pretty chilly, so I got to curl up on my couch with my blanket and read some blogs

When Rach got home Monday night, Dan and I went to Brio (Italian restaurant) while Rach watched Rissa. I didn't really want to go, because I felt bad about not giving Marissa my full attention all day at work, but Dan and I enjoyed the time alone, and Marissa had fun with Rach. I'm nervous that Marissa will start to act up or be upset since we've never worked every day before, and it will be more difficult for me to give her the same attention she's used to. Hopefully I can make up for it when we're home.

The first three days of working have gone better than I expected. By Tuesday the baby was happy and fine with me, and Marissa and H get along so well. Marissa loves the baby too. It is wearing her out though - today she slept for 3 hours! Totally unheard of for her!

I guess that's all. If you're on Xanga, I posted zillions of pictures. If you're on Xanga and I don't have you on my list, just let me know. If I know you well enough, I'll add you so you can see pictures!

Woooooo!

I got the job! We start Monday! My parents and bro are here! I'm going to bed!

Crazy times

Well, I should be in bed, but instead, here I am! I've been racing around like a mad-woman this week, trying to get everything ready for my parents, bro, and grandparents who are coming to visit this weekend! I'm so excited! But since I got a bunch of stuff at the new Ikea last week (AWESOME!) and I'm constantly rearranging furniture anyways, there's way too much to do. And I still have to clean! I need to dust the living room, bookshelves, and piano. I need to scrub our tub and wash our sink. I have to clean the toilet and sink in the 1/2 bath. I need to sweep and mop the kitchen floor, the entryway floor, the 1/2 bath floor, the master bath floor, and the mudroom floor. I need to do laundry, put it away, then vacuum the hallway where all the laundry sits in a pile til I get to it. I need to finish hemming my new Ikea curtains and hang them up. PLUS we need groceries for everyone this weekend!

On top of all that, tomorrow Marissa and I are going to visit a lady and her two children about a possible nanny position. The only negative thing about the whole situation is that they have a cat. But other than that it sounds AWESOME! I really hope the visit goes well, her house is clean, and the cat hates people. Lol. It's about-freaking-time I found some job possibilities! I've been looking since at least January, and this is literally the first person I've corresponded with about a job. I send zillions of people emails, and left messages, but no one likes me I guess cuz none of them responded. Except for one lady, who even gave me a date to start working, but never called, never emailed back, never answered my frantic emails WAY past the date I was supposed to start. How rude is that? Anyways, I'm very excited about maybe finally finding a job. Especially one this awesome. It's only mornings, and it's very close, so we'll come home for lunch and nap, so I won't have to worry about Marissa REFUSING to nap, like she did at the end of our last job. Ahhhhhh! Please pray that this works out. I really need this.

Ok, well I need to get to sleep! First I need to find something to wear tomorrow that won't collect cat hairs. Then I'm going to crash! I'll take any tips you have on keeping cats away from me without touching them. Lol. I'm also a bit paranoid about it biting/scratching Marissa. Hmmm, maybe I'll lock it in a bathroom? Ha! Night :-)

Potty Training

Marissa is 22 months old. Far too young for potty training, in my mind. But at her 18-month check up, her pediatrician mentioned that "any time now" is a good time to start. We went to the store that afternoon to buy some pull-ups, undies, and a little potty. For several months now, she has told us as soon as she pooped. She also has been watching me when I use the bathroom. Sometimes she will randomly jump up, run toward the bathroom, start to pull her pants down, and say "pee-pee, pee-pee!" We've put her on the toilet several times, but she hasn't gone yet. She knows exactly what to do on the toilet though - she needs some toilet paper! Right now, it's just a pain though, since she doesn't actually do anything on the toilet. I'm so clueless about this whole potty training thing. So far, it's the most confusing part of parenting for me. I don't want to stop her from "using the potty" but until she actually "goes" it seems to be a waste of time and energy. Should I even bother? I feel bad turning her down, especially since she gets so excited to use toilet paper. Lol. But I'm so sick of changing poopy diapers! I could really use some tips on this whole potty training business, k? Thanks :-)

The Dentist

So growing up, my mom always made sure that my sister, brother, and I got our teeth checked and cleaned at the dentist every six months. I think I only had one or two cavities up until I got married. Once I graduated from college and got married, I found a dentist near our new apartment, and started going every six months, like I had been taught growing up. When I got pregnant two months after getting married, toothpaste was one of the things that set off my "morning sickness." I still brushed my teeth, but not nearly as often as I used to. Now that I'm a homemaker and SAHM, I typically don't even shower until my almost-two year old goes down for her nap. Most days, after my shower, I go back downstairs to eat some cookies or candy. If I ate it in front of my daughter, she would demand some, and I'm just not up to the tantrum when I say no! So I don't brush my teeth then either, because then the goodies would taste funny. And at my last dentist appointment, the doctor seemed confused by all the plaque on a few of my teeth. My question is, should I have confessed to my bad habits? Or just play stupid about why my teeth were so bad? Ha, funny thing is, I did just play stupid. I guess I don't want her to know that I let myself go after I had my daughter. Haha. So anyways, I suppose I should get back to brushing first thing in the morning, and before bed. Oh, I forgot to mention that when I went away to college, I gave up the nighttime brushing. So now that I think about it, I've really just been going downhill! Haha. Do you visit your dentist regularly? Do you even brush regularly? C'mon now, speak the truth :-P

Light Green Living

So lately I've been trying to live my life a little "greener." Not that I'm excessively worried about the planet or anything. I'm actually doing it for some really selfish reasons:

• We're really trying hard to pay off some of our debt we've accumulated, so any way we can save money, we go for it. Many "green living" ideas save money:

  • We use cheap washcloths and dish towels instead of napkins and paper towels. I just do a whole load of those towels in the washing machine, and then we're stocked up again. No need to continually restock a supply of napkins or paper towels. Plus, they just plain work better - no ripping, better scrub power, etc.

  • One word for you: VINEGAR! It's extremely cheap and can be used to about 9 zillion things around the house. Just a few of the things I've used it for recently are:

  • stainless steel cleaner - sparkly, and no streaks!
  • carpet cleaner - rust, unknown goop, toddler pee
  • shower/tub cleaner - spray down after every use to prevent buildup, instead of cleaning buildup
  • dishwasher drying agent *bonus: cleans dishwasher of buildup
  • fabric softener in washing machine rinse cycle * bonus: cleans washer of buildup

  (If you're worried about the smell, it really does go away once things dry!)
  
  

  • Another reason we're goin' green is that so many of the everyday products we use contain nasty, dangerous chemicals. I have an almost-two year old, and the last thing I want is for her to get into those cleaners when I'm looking the other direction. Vinegar is edible! No danger there! I also buy a Seventh Generation brand of dishwasher detergent. The grocery store I shop at carries a whole bunch of Seventh Generation products, although the last time I checked, they hadn't restocked the dishwasher detergent. I hope they do before I need to buy a new one!

  
  I must confess, I still love my Chlorox disinfecting wipes. It gives me more peace of mind when I'm cooking raw meat and my daughter is around. I guess I'm more "green when convenient" but we're working on it. What are some things you're doing to be "green," even if they're not for all the usual reasons?

22 MONTHS

• I can hardly believe it, but in just two short months, Marissa will turn 2! My baby is all grown up! We weighed her at home the other day, and she weighs approximately 21 lbs. Which means she only gained 1 pound in 4 months...I'm starting to be a bit concerned, but there's really nothing more I can do.
  

• Her language is exploding these days! But my absolute favorite word of hers is "poffle" = waffle. Wall, fire, tower (blocks), shirt, snap, raisins, cheerios, water, Uniqua, Pablo, Austin (from The Backyardigans), fork, pillow, blanket, home, car, truck, plane, stairs (to go up or down), socks, yogurt, and book are just a few of the words she has either learned new or refined the pronunciation. Every day she is putting more and more words together to form complete thoughts. Today at lunch, she said "Dada, home? I mish you" so I just had to call Dan and let her talk to him. So precious.

• Monday morning, Rissa and I drove to Indy to visit my friend and roommate from college. Her little boy is 5 months old and Marissa just loved watching him while we were there. She always had to know where "baby" was, and was just fascinated by him. She even succeeded in saying his name, Carter, which turned out pretty cute coming from her mouth. I've got some ridiculous/cute/hilarious stories from our visit:

• We arrived just before lunch, and Marissa had fallen asleep in the car for about 15 minutes before we got there. I wasn't too worried, since she has just been so awesome about her sleeping schedules for several months now. So after lunch, I put her pjs on (they don't have feet, but they snap all the way down) and put her in the pack-n-play. She screamed, but I figured she'd calm down as soon as she got used to the different room. Crap, I can't remember the exact time line of events. Well, she cried on and off for a while, and I went in and reassured her a few times probably. Oh yeah, I gave up and let her play downstairs for a while too, since I thought her cat nap in the car might have messed her up. Once I put her back to bed, she finally quieted down, so I went to check her to see if she was actually asleep. Well, what I found stopped me in my tracks. She was asleep, but her pjs were in a pile next to her, her diaper was all wadded up in a pile on her pjs, and she was completely naked. I debated long and hard about waking her up to put her diaper back on, but decided she needed the nap more than I needed her sheets to stay dry. Lol. She slept naked for an hour! The second I heard her wake up, I ran upstairs to put her diaper on and clean up the mess I expected. But she was completely dry! I was shocked!

• When it was time for bed, I didn't have anything better for her to wear, since I only packed a few things. So I gave her a mini lecture (lol) and hoped for the best. I listened on the monitor, and when she got quiet, I ran upstairs to see what she was up to. When I opened the door, she was standing up in the pack-n-play, holding her pjs and diaper, naked again! This time I think I yelled at her quite a bit. Lol. At this point, I realized we would have this same problem every time she was left alone in the pack-n-play. I asked Laureann if she had any onesies for her little boy that might fit Marissa. The biggest one she had was a 12-month blue football onesie, which fit Marissa perfectly. Lol. So we borrowed that for a few days.
• After all this drama, we all realized that since her pjs didn't have feet in them, I probably could have just put them on her backwards and she would have been stuck in them. So from now on, she either gets a onesie or backwards pjs (or both!) for every nap and bedtime, since she is too smart and figured out snaps and zippers.
  

• 3. The first time Marissa saw Laureann nurse Carter, she looked at me with a funny look on her face, then said "shhhh" (which was her word for nurse, when she asked for it - she hasn't nursed for at least 3 months). On the drive back home, when she was in her car seat, she was holding her baby, and said "shhh" and pretended to nurse her baby. I think it's so cool that she actually still remembers nursing. And as much as I was annoyed by it, and ready to be done, I miss it now! I miss that cuddle time, quiet time, and giggle time with her. She's way too busy to be bothered with cuddle time, quiet time, and giggle time with me very often anymore!

• Wednesday, I made Marissa a half of a peanut butter sandwhich and put it on her plate. Then I made myself a whole peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwhich and sat down next to her to eat it. She took one bite of her sandwhich, then pushed it over to me saying "no, no, no" then took my sandwhich out of my hand, and proceeded to eat the entire thing. So I had to make myself a whole new sandwhich! I was so pleased that she actually ate so much though, that I just let her! Whatever it takes these days!
  

• I'm sure there were other things I wanted to share from our visit with Laureann, but I can't remember anymore. We had such a good time, and Marissa really enjoyed new/different toys. I hope they are able to buy a second car soon, so L and Carter can come visit us!

• Calling all grandparents (great-grandparents?), relatives, and close friends: Birthday party for Marissa the weekend of April 26-27? Sound good? Be here, or else...

• My sister is gone for the weekend, visiting Liberty University in preparation for going to school there in the fall. Rissa already misses her Aunt RaRa!

sorry

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. I got sick Tuesday, Dan got sick Thursday, and the house is a disaster area. We're all better now though, just busy! I'll update again soon, I promise!

Holy Macaroni - Part II

Alternate title: The First Milestone I'm Glad I Missed

Marissa woke up this morning around 7:10, which is a little early, but not bad. But when I walked into her room, I had to rub my eyes. There were little pieces of hot dog (last night's dinner) all over the floor, all over her bed, all down the crib rails, all over her pjs, and matted in her hair. I feel like such a horrible mommy because last night I didn't even check on her at all, so I don't even know when she threw up! I didn't hear anything that sounded like it though, and she had been acting totally fine for several days. I sometimes go in and check her before we go to sleep, but I didn't last night. I'm really hoping she only threw up when she woke up, because I think she'd be pretty upset if she threw up last night and I never came to get her.

Anyways, I whisked her straight into the tub, before anyone else was even up getting ready for work. Then I threw all her bedding in the washer. Then we came downstairs, cuz she was begging for some milk. Before she even drank any, she burped, and spit up some more on her shirt. So we went back upstairs to change her outfit. So far, there hasn't been any more throwing up, but she's definitely a little out of it today. Poor girl. At least this is the first time she's thrown up at all. I guess we are lucky? We're about to have lunch though, and even though I doubt she'll eat much, I'm worried that she will eat, and then throw it up. She's still wetting her diaper normally, and she's had a few minutes of normal playtime this morning. I'm hoping it was just a one-time thing, especially since Dan's parents are supposed to visit this weekend! Seth (little bro of the triplets) used to throw up if he was too upset, so maybe she just woke up upset, and I didn't hear her in time? We'll see...

Ok, time to try out some lunch.

*EDIT* She at a few things for lunch, but hardly anything. Guess she knew she wasn't ready to eat much. Hopefully she naps for a loooooooong time (like yesterday - 2 hours 45 minutes!) so she's better when she wakes up!

Holy Macaroni

It has certainly been an interesting few days since Friday. She had a slight fever on riday, but was acting fine. No more fever now, but her nose definitely has issues, and she's been coughing this nasty little gunky cough. Not very often, but it still sounds awful. One would think she would sleep better since she obviously feels so miserable. But this has not been the case:

Saturday for nap, Dan put her down because Rach and I were cleaning/organizing/finding her room. Instead of going right to sleep, she whined immediate for Daddy, over and over and over and over again, finally peaking at a hysterical cry. We let her cry for a while, thinking she'd still just go to sleep. After about 30 minutes of listening to her cry, stop, whine, cry, stop, whine, etc. she let out a sudden cry even worse than before. So I ran in to check on her. What I found stopped me in my tracks. Her pants were on the floor. Her diaper was in a pile in her crib. She was naked from the waist down (obviously). Her knee was stuck in the crib slats. And she was hysterical. The only good thing was that she hadn't peed all over her bed (*see 'Sunday for nap'). So we cleaned her up, put her clothes back on, comforted her since she was freaked out by getting stuck, and re-did the nap/bedtime routine. We put her back in her crib, and she fell asleep immediately.

Sunday for nap, I put her down like I always do, and Rach and I left to go pick up something for Dan at Lowes (he and Jeremy were working on finishing the basement). I left the monitor downstairs for Dan to listen to in case she pulled the same thing she did on Saturday. He called 20 minutes later to say that she was still crying, so I told him to check on her in case she took her pants and diaper off again. He said he would check on her, re-do the routine, and put her back down. When Rach and I got back, I asked him how it went. He said her pants were on the floor, her diaper was on the floor, and she had peed all over her bed, the edge of the crib, and onto the floor. He did his (manly) best to clean it up, and put her back to bed. When she woke up, I took all her sheets and blankets off, and wiped down the crib, and cleaned the carpet.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, we will now be putting her in her full footie pjs or making sure she is wearing a onesie underneath her clothes for all naps, no matter what. And we follow her to the front door corner to make sure she doesn't remove all her clothes there too.

Sunday night after the Super Bowl (bo-ring!) I actually fell asleep pretty early for a change. I was awoken (woken? awaken?) suddenly at 3am by Marissa whining loudly. Over and over and over and over. So I went in to her room and told her it was still dark so it was still nigh-night time and to lay down and go to sleep. She got really upset when I did that, obviously, but I kissed her and left. She quieted down, and I feel back to sleep immediately, only to hear her doing the same thing again 15 minutes later. Repeat me going to her room. Repeat her crying harder. Repeat her quieting down. Repeat me falling back asleep. Repeat whole process until 4 FREAKING 30am. Finally she actually went back to sleep instead of just being quiet for 15 minutes. Only to wake up before 7am. So I got her and put her in bed with us, and put The Wonder Pets on for her to watch, so I could sleep a little longer. Except she wouldn't sit still, so we came downstairs before 8am. I dozed on the couch while she watched every show known to man. Then she ate a huge lunch: grapes and cheese - lol (she's boycotting meat and pretty much anything else while she's "sick"). Then I napped while she napped, but she whined for so long again, then only slept for less than an hour, so we still didn't get much sleep. I guess that would explain why she whined for about an hour straight before dinner last night. ARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Last night she slept much better, but still woke up much earlier than she usually does. And she a basket case this morning. She won't stop crying for anything, except tv. Grrrr. So thats what we're doing. I can tell she's still miserable though, so I guess it's ok. She feels a little warm again too.

She is barely sick, but somehow she has succeeded in making the whole house miserable. I certainly hope this goes away soon.

A bunch of random tidbits...

Rissa's been shouting this one word for a while now, and I haven't been able to figure out what she means. She gets really upset when I don't respond properly, which obviously I can't if I don't know what she means. But yesterday we figured it out - she's calling "STACE!!!" which is what Dan and Rach call me a lot of the time. Silly girl.

Also yesterday, we got the Crayola Color Wonder markers/book out for her to play with. Well, she didn't want to color with them. She wanted me to open each one so she could use them as deodorant, which she smeared all over her shirt! We all died laughing, so of course she continued to do it even more. By the way, those markers are probably the greatest invention ever - she didn't make any kind of a mess using them as "deodorant" because they don't write on clothes, hands, or anything besides the special paper!


Another new discovery: num-num = food, or I'm hungry. She was pointing things out in a book of hers, and the food on the plate was "num-num." She also walked over to the pantry, and asked for num-num. She is obviously imitating me when I say yum about foods (trying to get her to try them), but it's funny how she decided to use it.

Marissa's really going crazy with words lately. She used to call ALLLLL drinks "juice" but she finally figured out "water" and "mulk" which is really awesome because she tells us which one she prefers, and because she never actually drank much juice at all. Lol. She says milk like "mulk" - that's not a typo. It's funny.

She also (just this morning) perfected "duck" to include the ending "ck" sound. It used to be one of the zillions of words that sounds exactly like "da" (cracker, guitar, socks, and all the other ones we haven't identified yet).

She also somehow picked up "Doda" from all the Wonder Pets and Backyardigans she watches - from the commercials. Cuz we never let her watch Dora til she started asking for "Doda" - because that's the most irritating children's show in the world. But now she loves it, and actually responds to all the dumb questions Dora asks, and repeats all the words they say to repeat - even the Spanish ones. So it's kinda cool, but still annoying. Lol. I got her a mini "Doda" at Kroger for $1.19. It was on the top of a Play-Doh container, but she doesn't know that, and she loves to carry it around. She points out "ta-ta" (backpack) and looks for "map" but the map is inside of backpack. I wish she would say backpack differently. Lol.

This morning Rissa disappeared for a few minutes down the hall towards the front door. Since there's nothing for her to do or get into over there, I didn't even pay attention. But the next thing I know, she's running towards me only wearing her shirt! Her little butt cheeks were bare and cold! So I followed her, past her pants in the living room, all the way back to the front door, only to discover a poopy diaper sitting on the floor! That was definitely a first for both of us! Lol. At least it was a "clean" poop so she didn't get poop anywhere - that would have really freaked me out. So I carried her upstairs (out in front of me so I didn't get poop on me) and cleaned her up. I wish I'd thought to take a picture. Hehe.

Right now we're playing the "How much?" game. Every time we get a fake credit card in the mail, I save them for her to use in her purse. Well, somehow she came up with the phrase "how much?" and says it over and over when she's playing with those cards. And she always does it when she's in her kitchen. After she asks, I give a number, and she "swipes" the card through a crack in the wall of her kitchen. Lol.

*EDIT* I almost forgot - happy 21 months, Marissa! She's been obsessed with jumping in her crib and on any mattress lately, ever since we took a toddler gymnastics class together. But she never made it off the ground - until last night! We all got so excited for her, that she got super excited too, and just kept doing it over and over til she almost fell over. I love her!

*EDIT #2* So apparently I can't just write a short post. Anyways, I've been letting Marissa watch Sesame Street sometimes, since she likes Elmo. And we have a book with Elmo, Cookie Monster, and some others in it. And she obviously says Elmo, but she also says "monshur" (monster) and it's pretty cute. Every time any monster (besides Elmo) comes on, she says it, since they all look similar. She also calls any large vehicle "choo-choo" since we saw a train ONCE. It's cute to see how kids generalize things.

20 months

Holy cow...Marissa is 20 months old! I can't believe how close she is to turning 2. Just crazy. We had a good Christmas. Marissa got a bunch of new toys (which she needed!) and Dan and I got some really nice things too. Dan's parents gave us money to buy Marissa a play kitchen, and we got that the day we got back from Georgia. So far she is loving it, and puts just about everything she can fit into the cabinets, stove, and dishwasher it has. It's so fun to watch her enjoying it and pretending with her baby. Thank you Granny and Pop-Pop!

She's starting to say a lot of new words, but even more than that, she's starting to understand a lot more. While we were gone, we slept in the same room as her, so now everytime she goes "nigh-nigh" she asks if we are going too. Lol.

And after every meal she eats, she IMMEDIATELY gets her baby, puts her in her high chair, walks over to the pantry, and says "ummmm" trying to figure out what to feed her baby. I eventually just gave in, so now we give baby a few crackers or goldfish after every meal so Marissa can steal them and laugh hysterically about it.

We are not allowed to buckle her in her high chair - she MUST do it.
We are not allowed to put her pants or socks on her - she MUST do it. She says "I DO IT!" over and over til we let her, although if I'm in a hurry and say "Mommy do it" she'll usually let me. Hehe.

She's a ball of fire these days, and has really started asserting herself even more. Mainly for my own knowledge, I've continued keeping a list of words/phrases she says. So here is the original list, with the new additions at the bottom.

her pronunciation = real word
tee = tv (oops)
boo = spoon
poo = poop (yes, she tells me when she poops! very convienent, but I'm really not ready for potty training!)
tish = tissue
shee = seat (carseat, or booster seat for a meal)
peas = please (she also usually signs it at the same time)
mah = more (she also usually signs it at the same time)
all doh = all done (she also usually signs it at the same time)
tank ooo = thank you
shoes = shoes (definitely her favorite, good grief!)
house = house
bah = ball (also sometimes says bah-bah for ball)
choo choo = choo choo train
baby = baby (another all time fav)
hi = hi
buh-bah = buh-bye
no = no
yesh = yes
puh = cup
ssssss = nurse
Dada = dada
Mama = mama
Ah-ra = Aunt Ra-ra
dee = ding (oven timer)
apple = apple
tash = trash
ell = help
nye-nye = night-night
Cheeeeeeze = cheese (for pictures)

NEW ADDITIONS:
pull and push - and she knows what each one means
hot and brrrrr - and she knows they are opposites
gentle
george (curious george)
ming-ming (the character from the wonder pets to tell me she wants to watch it)
tasha (the character from the backyardigans to tell me she wants to watch it)
ming-ming (when she wants to eat freeze dried mango)
shir = shirt
sweh-shir = sweatshirt
da = socks or crackers, depending on context
boo = book
poo = "I pooped! Change me!"
pee-pee (when we change her diaper, and she asks if there was poop and we say no, she asks about pee-pee + she does it every time we put her in the tub)
spoo = spoon
bow = bowl
poh-poh = pillow
I gotcha = anytime we're chasing her, or anytime she picks up something she dropped
juice = anything she drinks, no matter how many times I correct her with milk or water
keys
jep = jump
yo = yogurt or phone, depending on context
essie = sticker (can you say obsessed?!!)
eyes
nose
mouth
toes
poh-poh = pillow
MOM! = Grandma (guess I called her "Mom" too much)
Pah-pah = Grandpa and PopPop (can't tell the difference when she says it, but we're calling both grandfathers different names, so she might just be confused too)
Jep = Jeff (my bro)
cheerio (I forget how she says it, but we can sorta tell what she means)
dada = hot dog
bah = bath
ch-ch = brush teeth
ap ap = A Nap in a Lap (naptime and bedtime book - more obsessed!)
awwwwwww = complete with high and low tones to complely "awwww" over any baby she sees
ha = hat, although today she actually said the "t" part a few times!
duh = stuck
yusch = lunch
hee = hand, usually she wants us to give her our hand so she can drag us somewhere to get something she wants, lol
gate
cow
clap
boo-boo = anytime she hurts anything even a tiny bit, it's already a boo-boo, said in a very pitiful voice
I know

And she sings Twinkle, Twinkle with us, and by herself. It's so cute. She says "up aboh the" ("up above the") and "ga ga guy" ("like a diamond") very clearly and repeatedly. She's also beginning to sing Ring Around the Rosie too, only that mostly consists of very high-pitched squeals, followed by "ah, ah, DOWN!!!!"

I guess that about covers it. I can't wait to come back and read this in 6 months or so, and see how much she's changed.

Haha, oh man, I almost forgot to post this little story from our trip to Georgia. We ended up coming back a day earlier, and this is why. Marissa slept like an angel for the first two nights. Then the third night, I put her down normal time, but when Dan and I came to bed, she woke up (remember, same room). We told her over and over that it was still "nigh-nigh" time, and that usually does the trick, but not this time. She cuddled with me for a little while, but eventually became hysterically upset, to the point where she would just not calm down, for no apparent reason. It was Dan's night/morning for early duty, so he ended up taking her outside in the car for a quick drive, and then they both stayed in the car all night, til she woke up at 6am for the day. Dan however, only got 1 hour of sleep. The next night, I was so paranoid about the same thing happening that I laid in bed for over two hours, too tense to fall asleep. So instead of spending one more night and leaving in the afternoon to come home, we left Christmas evening around 7 and made it home by 4am. And honestly, we were much more rested that day than before. Lol. I guess that's not really so much a funny story, as it is a miserable one. But it was certainly interesting. She also had a few issues in the car ride down there, so needless to say, we have decided that we are not doing any long drives or staying over anywhere for at least 6 months!


*EDIT* Wow, that was a really long post. Sorry people. Anyways, I realized I forgot to mention the fact that she is saying ME and MINE alot these days. Everything she picks up is "MINE!!!" and she points to herself and says "me." I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but I'm still amazed at the things she picks up without us ever using the word, like MINE. We certainly don't go around saying "this is mine" but somehow she just knows! Wow. She had some issues sharing her toys with the other toddler down in Georgia, and only wanted to play with whatever he was holding. It's so fun to watch her little mind develop!

zqhjkngfderfiolkpmnbdswdcgv!!!

Spotting last night. Doctor's this morning. No more heartbeat. Baby was the same gestational age as the miscarriage this past summer: 8 weeks, even though I'm supposed to be 11 weeks. Heard a heartbeat both times, and then poof. It's gone. Possible D&C on Wednesday, or I might wait til after our Christmas trip to Georgia.

Nurses gave me a hug. Rissa gave me kisses and patted my back as I sobbed. She kept asking if I had a boo-boo. Dan's out of town til tomorrow. It's a good thing I have her to cheer me up. No posts til after Christmas. I need some time to myself.

Ooops

Ooops, I've been slacking on this blog. Xanga takes too much of my time, and I forget to update here. Sorry :-)

Since it's been so long, I'll do a bulleted post:

• I'm pregnant! EDD is July 4, 2008 (when my mom was pregnant with me, she was due July 4, but I was born June 22 - so cool to get a baby for my birthday!). I'm almost 10 weeks now, and I've been feeling awful since 6 weeks, 1 day. No actual "getting sick" but I've felt like it for basically 4 weeks now. So fun. Lol. I had my first appointment last week, and got to see and hear little Baby Blob #2. I'm still very nervous after the miscarriage this summer, but so far things are looking better this time around.
• I'm officially DONE WORKING! YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEE! My last day was Monday. Marissa keeps asking for the kids - they played so well together. But it's so nice not to have to watch them anymore. It was just becoming too chaotic. Plus, preschoolers bug the crap outta me, so I need to focus on developing Marissa into a preschooler who will NOT bug the crap outta me!
• Marissa is 19 months old already! I just can't believe it. Last week she discovered how to pull her pants down, and in the process, pull her diaper off. So now every time I put her down to sleep, I check her soon after to make sure she isn't going to pee all over everywhere. Lol.
• Thanksgiving in NY was so much fun. The long drives not so much, but having zillions of people who were dying to see Marissa and play with her - it was wonderful to just sit around like a bum cuz I felt so nasty. And Marissa learned names very quickly this visit. Grandpa = Bah-bah, Grandma = MOM (I think I didn't model "Grandma" enough, and called my mom "Mom" too much - lol), my bro Jeff = JESS! (she was in love with him! so cute!). She warmed up very quickly to all the relatives she doesn't see very often, and was the perfect entertainment for everyone and she knew it. Lol.I almost forgot to mention this: Marissa can count to 10! Rach was trying to distract her in the car the other day, and we randomly discovered it. We have no idea how she learned it though. Lol. She says about 7-8 numbers after the correct number before we even say them. I need to catch it on video soon. She knows it's cool too. Hehe. 8, 9, and 10 are the most exciting for her. Lol. She must be smart cuz we definitely never counted to 10 with her before. It's just amazing at what kids can pick up on their own!

She's also picking up a lot more words lately:
pull
open (sounds exactly like apple, context is a must for this one!)
yo = yogurt
yo = phone (another context thing)
ba-da-ba-da-BAY-ooo = we have NO idea! She says this alllllll the time! First she calls our names to get our attention, then says it very emphatically. It's driving me nuts!
La la la la = her singing book

And of course I can't think of any more for now. But she's a ball of energy and full of funny things to say and do. I only wish I had the energy to keep up these days! She's been getting bored with her toys, I can tell, and I can only do so much since I feel so awful. Hopefully after Christmas, with a bunch of new toys, she'll calm down some.

Well, she is tickling my toes right now, so I'd better go :-)

*Insert BIG GRIN here*

If you recall, not too long ago I was so desperate for Marissa to take a good nap that I climbed into her crib with her. Well, drumroll please...

Marissa is sleeping like an angel for bedtime AND naptime! After several weeks of the bedtime routine, she's been doing amazing. So the other day I decided to do the bedtime routine for naptime too. And whatdya know - it worked! I hold off nursing her right before noon, which is when she used to fall asleep, but not stay asleep. So after lunch (12:45, this girl eats slowly!) I change her diaper, read her a "boo" (book) and tell her it's night-night time. Today she cried for 2 minutes. The funny thing is, she totally knows what's going on during the routine. We ask her to say night-night and she says it with such despair and in such a pitiful voice because she knows what it means. But she usually reaches for her crib anyways. I am LOVING the schedule we are on now. When I used to watch the triplets, they were on a very tight schedule (for obvious reasons), and it made the day go faster when I knew what was coming up. Marissa has always set a loose schedule for herself, so it wasn't too bad, but now naptime is at 1, no matter what! Today we went for a looooong walk around the neighborhood, so I'm hopeful that she'll sleep at least 2 hours. The length of her nap doesn't seem to affect her, and it varies so much from day to day.

The only frustrating thing about this new routine is that it's impossible to do when we're at work. All the bedrooms are taken, and I can't/don't want to leave the pack-n-play there for only two days a week to get covered with black dog hairs. I don't know what to do. Nursing her to sleep just doesn't work anymore - she wakes right up when I put her down. And if she's not confined, she won't fall asleep on her own. I guess it's a good thing we'll be done with this job at the end of the year. But until then, I need to figure out a way for Marissa to get her naps in!

Anyways, I really hope that by writing this, I didn't just mess everything up. Lol. But I wanted everyone to know that I haven't been taking naps in her crib with her. Hehe Bye!

Wow

Marissa's vocabulary has already grown in the few days since I came up with that list! Keys, eyes, knee, and boo-boo are among the new additions. It's crazy!

I've been worn out lately. Last Tuesday I started the day by doing two loads of laundry, and two loads of dishes in the dishwasher. Then it was NAPTIME* and I got a shower. Then at 4:15, I found out that we would be showing our house at 6:15 to the realtor-lady who is trying to sell more plots. This couple wanted to see our model, and we have one of very few of this kind in the area. They are mailing us a nice big gift certificate to somewhere for showing it, but holy crap. I've never cleaned anything so fast in my life. We're still unpacking boxes and arranging things, on top of the usual mess of toys and crumbs on the floor. I put everything away, in boxes, drawers, shelves, dresser drawers, etc. Moved boxes out to the garage. Shoved random things into our dresser. Went around collecting trash from every room and hallway. Swept the floors. Vacuumed the floors. Did more dishes. Cleaned the whole kitchen. And I did all that with a toddler clinging to my legs. Lol. Dan came home from work a little early and helped a lot too. So, the house looks amazing right now! But don't open our dresser. Lol. Now we just have to sort all the junk in the dresser, and our house will be amazing, inside and out! I love it even more now, and there's sooo much space! I didn't realize how much room we have, and how much open space there is, because we still had a few boxes sitting around.

*NAPTIME: Holy crap. Well, let me start with the good stuff. I'm in the process of weaning Marissa, but she wants to do it a lot slower than I do. Lol. So we decided it was time for a new bedtime routine. She used to just nurse to sleep whenever she was tired, but sometimes that wouldn't be til 11pm, and it was just really starting to get ridiculous. Also, I wanted her to be able to go to bed on her own before she starts climbing out of her crib, and believe me, she's been trying lately. So we turned bedtime into Daddy-time. At 7:55 (an average of the times she used to just fall asleep on her own), Dan takes her upstairs for a diaper change and pjs. Then they read a book in the glider. Then he puts her in her crib. The very first night she only cried for 3 minutes. So we knew we made the right choice. She's been doing awesome ever since. She still sleeps in til around 7:30-8:30am. It's soooo nice to have the evenings just be adult time. And I'm loving the freedom it's giving me.

But...

NAPTIME. Since Saturday or Sunday (can't remember), naptime has been almost nonexistent. Sunday she slept for a few minutes in the nursery before church (we tried a new church again - Rissa did fine, and I really love the church and it's a lot closer than the other one), and then for a few minutes on Rach's lap in the afternoon. But when we put her in her crib, she was done with sleep. Last Monday at work, she slept for 4 minutes before she woke up crying. And then Tuesday happened. First, let me say that I'm sure most people can understand why I might be losing my patience. At least I hope so. Because I'm a bit embarrassed about what I have to say next. Lol. After lunch, Rissa asked to nurse. Which is fine. That's what she does. She knows when she's tired and ready for a nap. So I nursed her to sleep. But once I put her in her crib, she didn't stay asleep (she used to). So I tried our latest nighttime thing, and just went in her room and told her "I love you, it's time to go night-night. Lay down please" and let her cry for a few minutes to see if it was going to work. When it was obvious it wasn't, I got her out to nurse her back to sleep again (used to work). Only this time she just nursed forever, eyes wide open, playing with my hair. By this time, it was much later than she usually falls asleep, so I knew she was exhausted. So I decided to just put her in her crib (like Daddy does for bedtime) and let her go to sleep. Yeah right! I let her cry for 5 minutes, then went in and told her "I love you, it's time to go night-night. Lay down please" then let her cry for 5 minutes, then went in and told her the line, then let her cry for 5 minutes...you get the idea. I did this for, oh, probably 35 minutes. The funny part was that every time I walked back in the room, she completely stopped crying and her facial expressions were like she hadn't even been crying at all. It almost seemed fake, except for the tears and snot dripping down her face to the crib then onto the carpet. Lol. Finally, I decided it wasn't working (duh) and thought I'd lay down on the floor next to her crib to calm her down. Still crying. At this point, she was completely wiped out, so I knew if I could just get her to lay down, she'd fall asleep. So, silly desperate me, climbed into her crib (don't worry, it was very sturdy and didn't even creak - lol), and held her in a tight bear hug for 15 minutes while I sang to her. Finally, she collapsed. Somehow I managed to extricate myself from her crib without waking her up. I don't think I will be doing that again. But there's got to be a way to get this girl to nap well again!

Thankfully, she's been doing better since then, but it's still a struggle. She's sleeping now, so I'd better get some stuff done before she wakes up!

Yeah, it's been a while.

Well, Marissa had her weight check a few weeks ago now.
A little background info:1 yr - 17 lbs, 10 oz; 15 mo - 18 lbs, 13 oz
So her Dr. wanted me to start her drinking milk and adding olive oil to her veggies (weird) to help her gain weight, even though she's completely fine otherwise, and is developing normally. So she's still rear facing in her car seat, which is killing all of us. Lol. I figured she'd gain a lot because we've also been letting her have dessert a lot more, and she's generally just eating better. Or so it seemed to me.
So...drumroll please...




19 lbs 6 oz

So...still rear facing. Not sure what her Dr. thinks because he wasn't there, we just saw a nurse. But I have a feeling he'll be calling sometime. I don't know if I should be concerned that she's such a skinny mini, or annoyed that the Dr. is so concerned when it's obvious that I'm also a skinny mini.


Moving on...I finally have a few minutes to catch up. We had an awesome time in Chicago a few weeks ago. We left Tuesday morning and Dan had to go to 5 or 6 stores to install printers, and he had to completely set up a brand new store for work. Rissa and I either played with the toys in the stores, took naps in the van, hung out in the hotels, or spent 6 hours in a mall. Lol. It actually wasn't too bad, and Marissa did very well. We managed to time the long drives for during her naps most of the time, so she wasn't too miserable. And we pulled out all the stops for entertaining her when she was awake. Lol. We sang every little kid song imaginable, identified every body part visible, and threw every toy on the floorThursday was the last day Dan had to visit stores, so Thursday evening we went to Ikea right outside Chicago. I felt like the Griswolds going on vacation to Wally World...I was looking forward to it soooooo much, and was soooooo excited to finally see the signs and parking lot. But I actually got to go inside, and it got even better then! Lol. Marissa was asleep, so Dan stayed in the van with her, and I got to completely take my time walking through the whole store. It was amazing. I found about a zillion things I wanted. Once I went through the whole store, I called Dan and he came and I just showed him the highlights and the stuff I wanted. Hehe. We didn't buy anything, but in the spring, once we have a little more money, and the store in Cinci opens...oh boy, watch out! I basically want to furnish our entire house with stuff from there! My favorite thing is the little kids table and chairs. Absolutely perfect.

Friday, we got up and drove into the city, and went to the Museum of Science and Industry. The only reason we went there was so I could see the babies in all the stages of fetal development. Wow. That was just incredible. The rest of the museum was cool too, but Dan and Marissa were doing laps around the place while I studied all the babies. After the museum, we checked into our hotel, The Drake, and the lobby was really fancy. We were kinda disappointed in our room though. For the kind of money we had to spend on it, it wasn't even as nice as our rooms in the Comfort Inn. Lol. It was still cool though, cuz we were right downtown. Dan asked around for a good pizza place, and we walked to it - Gino's East. The pizza was ok, but I'm not really a pizza fan. Dan loved it, but we had to wait 45 minutes for them to just cook it. Geez. Again, we pulled out all the stops entertaining Marissa. Then we walked to the Sears Tower. Yes, walked. 2.5 miles - one way! I don't know how Dan convinced me to do it. Rissa got a nice long nap in the stroller, and I just about died. Once we finally got there, we saw the video at the top. During which, Marissa woke up hysterical (I think the loud movie woke her up) and nothing I did would console her. She was really upset the entire time we were up there, while Dan took a picture from every window - in the dark! Lol. Then we still had to walk the 2.5 miles back to our hotel! Marissa was awake for that walk, and loved every second of it - she just took everything in! We crashed that night!

Saturday, we got up and went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. We met a few guys that Dan knew from college there, and their wives. I had "met" one of them online because she also used to watch the triplets before I did. Weird! They just adopted twin girls from Guatemala who are two days younger than Marissa - they were absolutely precious! We had a great time visiting with them before we had to leave to drive home.

It was a busy little trip, with lots of driving, but it was really nice to get away for a while, and Dan really got to spend a lot of time with Marissa, which I sometimes feel that he doesn't get to do that often.

A week ago Marissa also turned 17 months old! I can't believe it! She is babbling like a maniac these days. I tried to compile a list of all the words she says on a regular basis:
her pronunciation = real word
tee = tv (oops)
boo = spoon
poo = poop (yes, she tells me when she poops! very convienent, but I'm really not ready for potty training!)
tish = tissue
shee = seat (carseat, or booster seat for a meal)
peas = please (she also usually signs it at the same time)
mah = more (she also usually signs it at the same time)
all doh = all done (she also usually signs it at the same time)
tank ooo = thank you
shoes = shoes (definitely her favorite, good grief!)
house = house
bah = ball (also sometimes says bah-bah for ball)
choo choo = choo choo train
baby = baby (another all time fav)
hi = hi
buh-bah = buh-bye
no = no
yesh = yes
puh = cup
ssssss = nurse
Dada = dada
Mama = mama
Ra-ra = Aunt Ra-ra
dee = ding (oven timer)
apple = apple
tash = trash
ell = help
nye-nye = night-night
Cheeeeeeze = cheese (for pictures)
She can also say Grandma and Grandpa, but I forget how she says them, and I think it changes every time we ask her. Lol.

Phew! I'm sure I am missing some of course. She also basically repeats anything we ask her to try. It's sooo cool. I love hearing her voice! Well, most of the time. Lol.

She can also identify her hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, lips, fingers, hands, feet, toes, knees, elbows, and belly button.Mealtime has become a circus. Depending on the week, day, or even hour, she might hate a food or love it. They say to watch a toddler's intake by the week instead of the day, and by the week she eats fine, but daily, it's ridiculous!

Ok, moving on...Last Wednesday after work, Marissa and I drove to Indy to visit my roommate from college, Laureann. She just had her baby boy two weeks ago, so I had to see him! He is sooo tiny, and sooo adorable! It was wonderful to hold a tiny baby again, and we had a fun visit til I had to leave late Thursday night. Marissa absolutely LOVED the baby, and said baby every two seconds the whole time we were there. She tickled his toes, rubbed his fuzzy hair, and kissed his head. She even got to hold baby Carter! It was soooo cute. She was so amazingly gentle the whole time. She also did this weird squint/smile when we ask her to give us a smile. She is turning into quite a fun little girl these days.

Well, I'd better run. I smell something funny...Lol.

The computer is still in the basement.

Sorry folks. I still have very little time to get on here. I've been reading sites still, when I get the chance, but commenting just has to take a back seat these days. I was just reading all my subs, and realized that everybody I know is pregnant. I'm so happy for them, because I know how exciting it is. But I'm so frustrated. Because that should be me too. I felt like the timing was perfect, and I had full-fledged BABY FEVER! But apparently God disagreed with the timing. I wish it wasn't such a long process to get on the other side of this. It was almost a month and a half ago when I first thought I was losing the baby. Now that I'm finally over all the stuff related to the D & C (long story), I'm ready to move on. And I want a tiny baby to hold!
Ok, enough of that.

I'm at work right now, and all the kids are supposed to be sleeping. But I can hear the 4 yr old girl wide awake, messing around in her bed. And Marissa is being stubborn and won't go to sleep. Oh well...At least I still get my quiet time.

We've been pretty busy lately. Last weekend my parents came to visit and Dan's parents just left Monday morning after spending the weekend with us. Both weekends were fun, and Marissa did great around all her grandparents, even though she doesn't see any of them very often. When my parents were here, they helped us do a lot around the house that I hadn't been able to get to because of all my issues. The house actually looks pretty good now, although there are still some spots that need help! But it feels sooo good to have it organized and some nice things put up. We got two awesome gates from Babies R Us - one for the top and one for the bottom of the stairs. It makes life soooooo much easier! Definitely worth every penny. And if we forget to close them, she'll even close them for us. Lol

Marissa is so fun and funny these days. She dances around the clock, always pulling out new moves. She's starting to pick up words a lot faster too:

• nurse = sssss
• cup = puh (just the "p" sound)
• baby
• tissue
• Rachel and Ra-Ra - both versions! Aunt Rachel is proud
• Da-da - she was so stubborn for so long and wouldn't say dada, and now she won't stop!
• Gramma = mee-mee
• Grandpa = pa-pa
• bless you = ble-shoe
• shoe
• noooo-ooooo - yes, she finally learned this word. She always says it with multiple syllables too. And her voice goes up at the end. Lol. And she says it as an answer to EVERYTHING. But at least she doesn't always mean it. So when we know she doesn't mean it, I make her say yes.
• yes = yesh
• hot - this comes with a lot of blowing on the food to cool it off - lol
• Hmmm, there's gotta be more. I'll think of them later I'm sure.

She also loves to blow her own nose - over and over again - (when she finds the tissues we hide from her) and then go throw it away in the trash. Only she has to take my hand and lead me to the trash can so I can open it for her. Too funny!

Weight check for Rissa at the Dr. on Thursday...we're really REALLY REALLY hoping to hit the 20 lb mark!

Oh, we bought a comforter for our bed finally! King size stuff is so expensive so we didn't get everything at once. But now it's all done, and it looks beautiful! I can't wait to take a picture to put up on here. Actually, I could almost take pictures of the whole house since it's starting to look like a normal house.

Well, Marissa slept late this morning (8:15 - yay!) but I doubt that was late enough for her to completely skip a nap! Lol. I guess we should try the whole nap thing again. I wonder where she got her stubbornness...

P.S. - anybody else in love with the HGTV show Color Splash? I keep having dreams about seeing the host in our neighborhood or Lowes. But I love that show!