It's a girl thing (or, are they related or what!)

The weather this fall has really spoiled us. I know, there's that lovely song about loving New York in spring....but fall here has spring beat every single time.

That is, until yesterday. When it was 40-some odd degrees out and raining sideways. Ugh. COLD!

I, of course, being of sound mind and body, have refused to break down and buy a maternity jacket. I suppose I was irrationally hoping to actually make it to 12/12 (and beyond, really, since I'm no Angelina Jolie and will still have a belly once I deliver BabyGirlCarter#2) without having to do anything other than wear layers. Under a bright red raincoat. Because that's the only thing that fits me. I know - what an image. I look like a bright red beach ball with legs. MMM, I'm bringing sexy back! (disclosure - I actually broke down and bought a jacket, recommended by my sister in law G, and am anxiously awaiting it's arrival from target.com)

However, this post isn't about my coat issues. It is about Monkey's coat issues.

See, this delusion that the warm weather would continue? Led to me not buying a new winter coat for Monkey. Poor thing.

So, we've been layering each morning to ensure she gets to school without turning into an ice block. She's just plain ole' cranky about having to put on two coats.

"Harrumph, one is enough, mom" is her attitude....and let me tell you, it is
capital A attitude! Bossy little thing.

I shared this tidbit with G, and turns out.........her insane toddler, HP, also has coat "issues" in the morning. Now, since Boulder is lovely and still warm out, this isn't an issue of preventing frostbite. Still, HP makes them go through 3 or 4 coats in the morning before she will actually put one on! "Developing a fashion sense already" is how her mother describes her.

They are so alike, it cracks me up. I forsee a lot of fun in the future, when HP and Monkey hang out. And either raid their mothers' closets for something to wear....or raid their mothers' closets so that they can roll around on the floor and say things like "I KNOW, can you believe she actually WEARS that?"

Seismic activity

BabyGirlCarter#2 is a decidedly active child in utero.

Yesterday, when I was at my 32 week checkup, the doctor was about to ask about her activity when BGC#2 vigorously kicked the sonogram. A loud thunk reverberated in the room and my doctor laughed. Question answered.

Today, she's been preoccupied with doing "the wave." And yes, I mean exactly what that sounds like. She starts on the right side of my abdomen and the ripple of activity moves across and all the way to the left. As in small pointy appendages pummeling me from within. Over and over again.

Earlier today I commented on this activity to a colleague who was standing near me. She laughed, and confirmed she could see exactly what I was talking about....although by now, I'm pretty sure you could see this from outer space.

Hi kid. Nice to know you're going to take after your big sister.

Back in the saddle again

I am proud to report that Monkey missed me a little bit while I was gone, but only a little.

When I came home on Sunday night, she was thrilled to see me. But really, she was mostly thrilled to show me the pumpkin she carved with Daddy and Cousin Heather on Saturday night. She kept asking to turn the lights off, so we could look at the pumpkin (with its candle lit). "Oooh, spooky" was what I taught her to say.

It is really nice to be home.

More later. Including photos of my niece HP and stories about my time in Colorado!

Every little thing she does is magic....

I'm going to Denver this week for work. So everything that Monkey does, I see through the viewfinder of "damn, I"m going to miss this kid while I'm gone..."

That's all. Nothing melodramatic, funny or even vaguely interesting to say. I'm just going to miss my insane toddler.

Let's do the time warp again

Monkey's new thing?

When I approach her, and she is busy (reading, playing, whatevah...) and does NOT want to be disturbed....

She says "walk away Mommy, walk away!"

Um, where is my toddler and when did you become a teenager? Did I miss the time warp?

Them bones

Rumor has it (if I read webMD and babycenter and all other sources of infinitely facsinating sources of information on being knocked up correctly) that now, at 30 weeks, baby's bones are hardening.

Duh. I could have told you that. Ow.

Tongue twister

Recently, Monkey has taken to saying "thank you SOOOO much" which pretty much cracks us up. It's something about how she emphasizes SOOOO - it doesn't look funny on paper (or blog) but trust me, it is adorable. I don't know if she got it from me, from M, or from school, but I like it. No reason not to be extra polite, right?

Now, being only a whopping 27 months old, sometimes she mixes up her sentences. So last night, when she said goodnight to daddy, I'm pretty sure she meant to say "I love you too..."

Instead? She said "I love you TOO much."

Snort. Right back atcha kiddo.

Sunshine and roses

Well, in comparison to a few days ago, Monkey's mornings both yesterday and today were full of sunshine and roses. Maybe her cold has passed (turns out lots of her classmates at school are now uber cranky with head colds....).

Yesterday we walked to school (i.e., Monkey was in the stroller and I walked the 27 odd blocks). She sang and chattered and had me read Winnie the Pooh meets Gopher (the abridged version) again and again.

Today we took the bus, and Monkey spent most of the time commenting on how slippery the seat was (and then scooting around on her butt and giggling) or asking why. You know, why did the bus stop? Why did the little boy get off the bus? Why can't I have ice cream (as we passed a delivery van decorated in pictures of ice cream). Why why why.

Somedays, it is just such a pleasure to be her mom. I love that kid. Even after answering 1450 "why" questions in a 30 minute commute.

Wrong side of the bed (crib, whatever...)

Poor Monkey, she really was a disaster this morning.

She's not feeling well, with a cold, and that made her miserable, and then every thing kept going wrong.

Like what? Well......I opened the door to the kitchen and smushed her foot/scraped her little toe. (Cue award music for mother of the year.)

Then she tried to grab a heavy book out of her crib and dropped it on her foot. Same one, bien sur.

And then, adding insult to injury, the cat hissed at her when she hugged poor Ollie too vigorously. I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Monkey just looked at me and sobbed.

If she were a few years older, I think she would have just told me she was going back to bed for the day. That or said "it's five o'clock somewhere in the world" and cracked open a beer.

An unmitigated failure

As part of the preparation for babygirlcarter#2's immininent arrive in 8 weeks 4 days (but who's counting, really), we need to move Monkey to her big girl bed.

In her big girl room....

On the other side of the apartment.....

Without all her toys, books, and artwork on the wall that make it "her" room......

And which presently looks like the receiving bay of a goodwill or salvation army drop-off site. Replete with boxes of books, detritus, used coats, electronic odds and ends, and you know - stuff.

That sort of chaos makes me itch. Yes, because I'm anal and I love a clean and tidy apartment. It makes M itch even more, because he abhors clutter like...hmm, roaches hate Raid? It's a strong aversion, let's just leave it at that.

So, it shouldn't have surprised us that Monkey didn't like this room either. She IS our child, after all.

Still, we tried on both Saturday and Sunday to get her to take a nap in her big girl bed. In theory, she's over-the-moon excited about this option. She begs to sit on her bed, and when you ask if she's going to nap there you get an "oh YES" and vigorous head nodding.

Reality was a wee bit different. Tantrum central: crying, wailing, gnashing of teeth and throwing herself at the door. Oy.

So she slept in her crib. Even there we had to let her cry it out - she'd worked herself up so much there was no other option.

We have a lot of work to do. We need to transform the pit of hell, um the big girl room, into an actual big girl's room. Wish us luck.

So Hey! See you at the Salvation Army drop off this weekend!

One less thing to worry about

So, dear readers, as you know from recent posts, we have been quizzing Monkey about what to name her little sister.

Mostly, this has been to entertain ourselves, but we forgot to let Monkey in on the joke.

Last night, as M and I went to bed, I have to admit that I laid there and just laughed and laughed and laughed. Because Monkey has an honest to goodness opinion about what to name her little sister, and will not move from her position. She's selected the name, dammit, so why must we keep quizzing her! She's so earnest, too, when she tells us the name. It about breaks my heart with cuteness.

So, as M put it - that's one less thing to worry about! (and no, we're not telling you what the name is. and no cheating by asking Monkey)

And so it begins

No, not potty training. What has begun is the dearth of answers.....prompted by the little three-letter word dreaded by all parents - that's right, "why." (four letter words? hell, no problem...)

You know....

Why is the sky blue?
Why did Mike Mulligan and MaryAnn dig the canals?
Why is there a bus on the street?
Why is there a plane in the sky?
Why did the people get off the bus?
Why
Why Why WHY WHY WHY

First, you give the scientific answers. The sky is blue because that is the wavelength of light reflected.

Then, you make answers up. Mike Mulligan and MaryAnn dug the canals because that is their job. Or the bus is on the street so people can get places and that lady is hungry for her supper.

But then your answers beget more questions. Why does that lady want her supper? She's hungry. Why?

And, folks, eventually you are left with the exasperated "dunno" answer. Eventually, all the "whys" wear you down to a wordless nub of a human being.

And that's when it gets interesting. You know, in your heart of heart, that what ever you say will prompt another question. And, you know, that she'll remember and possibly even repeat the things you've said outloud.

So, how do you make up creative answers that satiate her curiosity, entertain yourself (and anyone eavesdropping next to you on the bus), and maybe JUST MAYBE let you move the conversation forward?

Inquiring minds want to know.

And then.....nothing

So, since the latest and greatest experience in potty training????


N.O.T.H.I.N.G.




This kid is taking her own damn sweet time.

Monkey's first autograph

Yesterday we took Monkey to The Great Children's Read on the Columbia University Campus. It was awesome. The fields were full of kids, listening to authors reading their very own books outloud, dancing to They Might Be Giants, and generally geeking out about literacy.

Monkey had a grand old time. We were fortunate enough to listen to John Bemelmans Marciano read Madeline and the Cats of Rome. (John is the grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans, who wrote the original Madeline). And then, armed with a copy of the book (purchased right there in the Target book tent - got to show Target some love if they are promoting literacy!!), we stood in line and had the author autograph the book. It was SO COOL! (and yes, I'm a geek)
We were fortunate enough to get to chat with the author for a bit, and M told him that Monkey loved the original Madeline so much she had much of it memorized. I'm pretty sure that the guy thought M was full of it, since he promptly asked Monkey what Madeline said to the tiger in the zoo. And, sure enough - she said poo poo! (the appropriate answer). This got a good laugh out of the author. I'm sure he gets sick of people telling him how much they loved his grandfather's books, even if they did provide him with the opportunity to write his own book - but this brought a big smile to his face.

So, Monkey got her first autograph. I'm just happy it is in a book, by an author, and not some hipster rockstar wannabe signing her chest with a sharpie.......... that can be her second autograph.

Made mama whoop for joy!

Eons ago we thought the potty training might have started, but that was...um....March, and now it is October. You know, seven months ago.

Since then we've been offering Monkey the potty, talking about using the potty, and reading a book about potty training a lot. Not every single day, but often. We never forced the issue because, well, she's a pig-headed stubborn child (like both her parents) and forcing the issue would only guarantee tantrums and a flat-out refusal to cooperate. And I'd like her to be potty trained before she goes to college.

Every single time I asked Monkey if she wanted to use the potty she'd say no. Not interested, thank you.

But last night? For the first time that I recall, she actually ASKED to use the potty. So, naked (since she was about to get into the bath), she sat on the potty. And by potty, I mean the actual toilet with a little insert to make sure she doesn't fall in. She refuses to sit on the (shudder) Elmo potty chair I bought for her...and that's fine with me. We use the insert and the rest of it is now a step stool, so it works.

Well, she didn't pee. But she did ask for toilet paper and to flush the toilet. Which is something she only gets to do if she USES the potty (i.e., pees or poops). So after a few minutes of nothing happening, I took her off the potty. And she asked to sit on the potty. So, naked she sat on the potty. And asked for toilet paper and to flush the toilet. Which....oh, you get the point. We repeated this behavior for another 25 minutes or so.

And then, just when I was thinking this might be a pointless exercise and she was yanking my chain for the fun of it.....she peed in the potty! I literally whooped for joy. Man, a few years back if you would have told me that watching my daughter pee all over everything (because she kind of peed ON the insert, instead of INTO the toilet) would make me this happy I would have told you to pound sand. Seriously - like who would actually think this is a big deal? Well, fast forward to our life and honestly - it really was awesome. And I really did whoop for joy.

And then? Because we strive to fulfill all stereotypes of first-time parents who think their child walks on water? We called BOTH sets of grandparents and had Monkey tell her story. Yup. Good times, good times.

Here's hoping she does it again before another 7 months go by...........

A rose by any other name....

We are not telling anyone what the possible names are for BabyGirlCarter#2. That way, no one can vote or veto or crinkle their nose with distaste or exclaim that they've selected that name for their putative child. By the time everyone meets her, the name will be a done deal and no longer a point of discussion.

But, for the purpose of this blog, let's pretend that we are considering a few names: Ima, Ura, Edna, and Apple. (and no, these aren't even CLOSE to what we're contemplating. quit trying to guess)

Last night over a nutritious dinner of peaches and (soy) hotdogs, Monkey and I were talking. I asked her what we should name her baby sister.

Me: Should we name your baby sister Ima?
Monkey: NO!!!!!!!!! Big frown.

Me: Eyes wide with surprise. Chuckle. Ok, should we name your baby sister Ura?
Monkey: NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Vigorous head shake and pursing of lips.

Me: Hmmm, ok. How about Edna?
Monkey: NO. Dayum, woman, what's with the awful names?

Me: Fine. How about Apple?
Monkey: Apple. APple. APPle. APPLe. APPLE! APPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Folks, we have a winner. At least for ten seconds last night.