Too Flogged to Blog

Sorry to all of my avid fans (all 2 of you!) for not having more delightful entries to post as of late, but things have been hectic! Busy at work, busy getting ready for Christmas, and busy watching Josie mimic us. That's right - we cough, she "coughs." We sneeze, she *tries* to sneeze, but just ends up giggling instead. We wave, she waves. We put our arms up and say "so big," she puts her arms up. We sigh, she sighs. It's been awfully fun to watch her develop and constantly watch us for cues. She's scooting all over the house now, finding any little scrap of paper on the floor and trying to hide it from daddy when he tries to take it away before it goes in her mouth. She's ready and kneeling in her crib in the morning, just waiting for us to open the door and giving a delightful smile when she finally sees us.

We visited with Santa over the weekend, and it went surprisingly well. I expected a fat lip and some tears as she is going through some of the stranger anxiety right now, but I think she was too enthralled with the beard to be scared. Here's a picture for ya -



If I don't get a chance to write again before the weekend, have a very Merry Christmas! Travel safely and enjoy the holidays!

Winter Wonderland

I know it sounds like such a cliche, but viewing the world through the eyes of a child is so awesome. For example, winter is definitely here, pummelling us with about 6 inches of snow over the last couple of days. In the adult mind, I'm thinking how much this sucks. It's purty and all, but getting around in it pretty much blows goats, especially when everyone else is nowhere near as good of a driver as I am. ;) Keep your comments to yourselves on that one.

But looking at this winter wonderland through Josie's eyes is an entirely different matter. After picking her up from daycare yesterday and walking outside, she had the most amazed expression at the white blanket covering EVERYTHING. We stopped near a tree by the sidewalk and she very tentatively reached out to touch this amazing stuff on the branches. I had forgotten that since she was born in January and was just an itty bitty bean the last time snow was around, that this would be the first winter that she is aware of what's going on around her. Very cool. Maybe the fun the snow will provide will make up for the anguish of putting on all the winter gear, especially that darn poofy coat that doesn't allow her to move once she's buckled into the carseat. Life is rough. We even hear an occasional *sigh* from the backseat. Although it can't be all bad - I did catch her playing peek-a-boo with herself in the mirror we have on the backseat so we can see her - she was pulling her hat down over her eyes and leaving it there for a few seconds, then lifting it up a little and peeking out at her reflection. Too cute. I'm so glad we have a girl who can amuse herself. She certainly provides good entertainment for the rest of us, too :)

Josie's Got Places To Go!

Our little girl is all grown up! Okay - maybe that's a *slight* exaggeration, but it sure feels like she's grown by leaps and bounds in the past few days. Friday afternoon we were playing in her room, when all of the sudden she just up and crawled out the door into the hallway. Just like she'd been doing it for months. As she stopped, then turned around to look at me for reassurance that what she just did was okay, I could see this excited twinkle in her eyes as she realized that a whole new world just opened up before her! I hope what I conveyed to her was absolute excitement and encouragement and not the panicky feeling I was trying to hide as I realized that a whole new world also opened up for us, her parents! More bumps on the head, pinched fingers and frustrated cries as she gets stuck in places that seem fascinating and must be visited. But it really is the cutest to watch that little diapered butt scoot across the floor, and I am so happy for her new development. She also has begun to kneel and try to stand in her crib, and to attempt to pull herself up onto any solid object that comes her way. So Fun! And So Scary!

A Better Way

Josie has finally decided there is a better way to get around than rolling from place to place, which she had become quite proficient at, actually. For the last couple of nights, Pat has been able to get her to take some tentative crawling "steps" toward, of all things, the newspaper. A Cub foods ad, to be exact. She is still doing more creeping than crawling, so far, but is finally well on her way. She's also showing more interest in pulling herself up on the couch and coffee table as she's realizing there's more to life than what's on the living room floor.

Here are a couple of pictures for your Thursday morning:


"Fancy 'do!" And "No more kisses!"

Priorities

What is it about having nothing to do that perpetuates doing nothing?

I was looking forward to a wide-open weekend with NO plans. Wow - what a lot of stuff around the house I was going to get done! Well, guess what... I pretty much got nothing done. Don't get me wrong - I'm not beating myself up about it (too much - with the exception of a missed playdate Saturday - darn Josie and her erratic napping habits!) but it does lead to frustration. Sure, I got the laundry washed, dried, folded and put away, which is quite a feat in and of itself - but there are still dishes in the sink, hair on the bathroom floor and Christmas decos in their boxes. I wanted to organize the closet overflowing with out-of-season clothes - didn't happen. I wanted to get the extra overstuffed sofa out of our living room so we have an iota of space - didn't happen. I wanted to get my recipes picked out for the annual cookie bake coming up - didn't happen. We desperately need a run to Target, and that didn't happen, either. We DID have a very nice visit Saturday with one of Pat's uncles and family, and had brunch Sunday with another couple and their adorable 4 month old that we don't get to see very much - so all wasn't lost. And I guess I could have foregone the 2 hour nap on Saturday afternoon while Josie was napping... but that is a precious opportunity that I just couldn't let pass! And I guess Jo could have taken her 1/2 hour catnap yesterday afternoon in her crib instead of cuddled up on me while we snuggled underneath a blanket... but again, couldn't pass that one up, either. So I guess how you look at what got accomplished is all a matter of priorities.

I'll take cuddle naps and brunch any day over dishes and closet-organizing. :)

It's going to be a lonnnnggg afternoon...

Upon returning to work after maternity leave, I had been working until 1:30 on Thursdays, instead of my normal quitting time of 4:15. It was nice. Very nice. There's just something magical about leaving the office under the jealous, furtive glances of co-workers confined to their cubes until quittin' time, getting on that elevator and kissing this place goodbye until Monday morning. But, alas, it is no more. Now that the winter months are upon us, I found that leaving at 1:30, trucking down to our parking lot to get the car (or waiting for the bus to the lot, which is much like standing in line at the DMV,) letting the car warm up, driving to daycare, chatting with daycare Betty, bundling up Josiebean, making our way home and not arriving until 2:30... then putting her down for a nap, getting her up, bundling her up again and hopping back in the car (oh, yeah... we also have a detached garage - which is a GIANT hassle in the winter) to go pick up Pat from work at 4:45, just wasn't worth it anymore. Granted, Patrick could take the bus home... but that can take anywhere from 1/2 hour to eternity during rush hour. Then he misses any time with Josie before she turns in at the whopping late hour of 6:30 pm. So - we decided that since we're paying for a whole day at daycare on Thursdays anyway, I may as well stay at work for a couple more hours and make a little - and I mean LITTLE - more moola. It's not like Josie and I were getting any real, quality bonding time. So come 1:30, I'll still be here, looking longingly toward the direction of the elevator while my co-workers secretly smirk with glee. *sigh*