Going Underground!

Hi!  Is it quieter in here, or is it just me?  :)  So glad you want to continue to hear my ramblings.  I am also pleased to find out that a few of my readers have been keeping up with me and yet still want to have families of their own someday!  I must be doing an okay job of putting a positive spin on things... and when I fail to do so, at least I'm being honest!!

Today was a great day with the girls.  Mondays tend to be hard because we're tired from the weekend, but today was great.  I got up early and did some stretching/weights for about 20 minutes, and while Trav was in the shower I got to snuggle with Emily in my bed.  She whispered to me, "Mom, we're going to have another great day AGAIN!" Isn't that a great way to start the day???  We went to the chiropractor, and then Audrey snoozed on my lap when we got home, which is unusual these days so that was a real treat.  Emily watched Clifford, and then we did laundry.  The girls played nicely together all day, and they were so silly at times that there were lots of giggle-out-loud moments.  They ate every scrap of their healthy lunch of leftovers (no battles or whining), and we ended up all taking naps this afternoon.  Then we went to the library, where they were giggley and happy, and we had tacos for supper.  It was a great day.  I'll take this day, any day!

Last Monday, however, was a different story.  I have a hard time telling Audrey's "I'm tired" and "I need to poop" signals apart, since they both involve general fussiness and wanting to gnaw on her blanket.  I misjudged, grossly, and when I checked on her after laying her down that afternoon, I found her happily cooing in her crib with poop EVERYWHERE.  I'm not exaggerating at all - I threw away the crib sheet, and had to disinfect in between every crib slat.  Audrey got a bath because she had it in her hair, even.  Then I had to disinfect the bathtub!  It took me an hour, during which time Emily peppered me with "Why's" throughout.  I don't know why she wasn't catching on that the answer was always, "Because there's poop on it!"  Then, I learned the hard way to not ever wash all of Audrey's blankets at the same time because she requires one specific kind to chew on in order to get to sleep.  She wigged out for 45 minutes until she decided that a fuzzy changing table cover was close enough substitute for her to pass out with.  It was insane, and I was so helpless.  After she woke up, we went to Target and I bought two more of the exact same blanket, so we have 4 now.  Crazy.

Audrey is really into standing now, but only with support.  She likes to grab onto my pant legs and stand holding onto me, which is fun to see when she smiles up at me but not as fun when I'd like to move somewhere but can't because she's clinging to me and will fall over if I leave.  She's very, very attached to me!  Her faces crack me up, though; her expression today after putting a few peas into her mouth by herself was so self-satisfied that I couldn't help but laugh.  It was like she was so happy to be eating that she just couldn't container herself!  (Yum, yum, yum! there!)  She's been attacking my head the past few days because I had some pretty clips in my hair one day, and she wanted to play with them.  When she remembers them, she brutally claws at my head in search of them.  The COOLEST thing was when she was sitting in her rocking chair and I was taking pictures of her, and she turned her head when I changed the camera perspective.  I recognized it instantly and told her I knew what she was doing, and she smiled back because of course she understands what I'm saying!  SO cool!  So I'd turn the camera one way, then rotate 90° and she'd turn her little head just right.  Adorable.  What a cool kid.  Then a few days later she managed to stand up in the same rocking chair and tip it over backwards, smacking her head on the floor and leaving a nice bruise (check it out - it'll be on our Christmas card!).  I saw it coming and almost almost got there in time, which was a really awful feeling to just not quite get there.  All those years of practice digging volleyballs, and when it really counted I was wearing slippery socks.  Gah!

Emily is pretty brutal with her constant "why's" still, but I'm doing pretty well at staying a step ahead of her on things.  Is it parenting, or maniuplation and mind-games?  I'm thinking there's not much of a difference!  Last night she finally slept through the night after a few weeks of getting up to pee during the night.  It's hard to tell her to stay in bed, because I'd rather wipe a bottom than change sheets, but on the other hand, it's obvious that she doesn't have to go that much.  She has the funniest things to say.  She brought me a skirt from my closet today, and I told her I thought I might wear jeans instead.  "But you look so beautiful in this!"  Funny to hear my sentences come out of her mouth.

We went to church yesterday, which we don't do often so she thinks it's a marvelous special event.  She was excited to hear "all the beautiful music," and very much enjoyed the Christmas tree and going up for the children's sermon.  That was fun for us, too, because we hadn't told my grandparents that we were coming, so they found out we were there when they saw Emily come trotting up front!  We had lunch with them and then took Mommo to the ISU women's basketball game with us.  It was a really nice time, especially since Emily decided that Mommo's lap was the place to snuggle when she got tired.  It is such a wonderful feeling to see my girls having memorable times with them.

I'd better turn in before it gets too late.  It's sure fun to have these anecdotes to share.  I think they've been there all along, but I'm really enjoying these moments now.  I love my little family!