Games, get stronger, overload

1. ‘Ammal!’ Rachel exclaims, followed by ‘tack, tack, tack’. I guess ‘you’re a duck!’, and on we go with one of Rachel’s favorite games. We kind of take turns giving the other an animal noise to guess, and she’s pretty good at it.

2. I’m not able to do my pushups with Rachel flopped onto my back. Also, she’s too tall to walk between my legs, especially when I’m in the middle of side lunges.

3. Library story hour was a little overwhelming today due to the huge number of babies, toddlers, and responsible adults. No wonder Rachel went to a quiet spot and laid on the floor.

Sunshine, looking back, librivoxing

1. I was a bit grumbly about S waking me up this morning (I had just fallen back to sleep after several hours of lying awake), but I did have to go with him so I could drop the car off for maintenance. The morning really couldn’t have been any better for a walk. I wore Rachel on my back and she was all snuggly. After her morning nap we made the trip back down and it was even more beautiful out. Rachel made her soft, contented baby noises all the way and was almost asleep when we arrived at the shop.

2. Finally ordering pictures from Rachel’s first year. I guess I’ve decided to make a normal album instead of designing one online. I can spend hours looking back through her pictures. She’s changed a lot, but I can see glimpses of toddler Rachel in infant Rachel.

3. I’m almost done with another book for librivox. This is a sequel and I thought was supposed to clear up the mystery from the previous book. But no, there’s a third book. Hopefully that one will answer some questions. Next time I start a new recording, I’ll make sure there are no sequels. It’s possibly one of the most ridiculous and meandering stories I’ve read yet.

A Saturday

1. The way the hand mixer makes patterns in the egg whites I’m beating for cake.

2. Post bath snuggles with Rachel.

3. Reading The Bertie Project by Alexander McCall Smith. I love his books and am far too caught up on them thanks to the library.

New shoes, playful, complete

1. We went shopping for Rachel’s first real pair of shoes after story hour this morning. I put them on her after we got home and she protested loudly over them while I made lunch. After lunch we went outside and she forgot she had them on. It felt nice to be sitting in the sun again, and Rachel must have had a song from the library stuck in her head, because she was humming and breaking some dance moves on the sidewalk.

2. Sitting on the floor with S this evening, enjoying Rachel’s antics around the living room.

3. Finishing a Christmas stocking. It’s early, but now I can pack them away. Maybe I’ll get an early start on ornaments too.

Busy times

1. Rachel is starting to want to transport her stuffed animals and toys wherever she goes. Sometimes she’ll want the teddy bear she sleeps with to go down to the living room and sometimes it’s the little crochet kitten that her Great Grandma P made her which I give her to hold during her diaper changes. 

2. I picked up pom-poms today and cut holes in the lid of a large yogurt container for Rachel to push them through. It kept her busy while I made dinner, which tends to be the time she begs to be held, so I think I’ll keep it for just those times so it retains some novelty.

3. Rachel tried stalling bedtime tonight by bringing another book to me. Little ones learn things like that so fast.

Growls, useful tools, qualify time

1. Baby was really getting her growl on today during Sunday school.  She was also giving a few people her stink eye for no apparent reason during our meeting afterwards.

2. A friend brought her yarn swift to church today so I could wind my second skein of yarn for my scarf into a ball without it getting all knotted up like my first one did. I’m glad to be to the point of needing the second skein. From the progress I made last fall before Baby was born, I thought I’d be a couple years.

3. Game playing and reading with S after Baby went to bed.

Banana, growing, a book

1. I gave Baby part of her banana in slices this morning, then partially peeled the other half and handed it to her to see if she’d eat it that way. She promptly turned it around and amused herself by chewing on the stem.

2.  Baby’s grown so much since we lowered her crib mattress that she’s able to hang both arms out over the top rail! I guess it’s time to lower it all the way. She’s growing so fast.

3.   I took advantage of being at the library for story hour and picked up Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Pioneer Girl. I’ve been wanting to read it since it was published last year, but just didn’t take the time to go borrow it.

Home fires

1. I ran to Wal-Mart to pick up the base for Baby’s Halloween costume while she napped this afternoon (S took the day off to recover from our trip). She’s going to be a little monster and I was able to get started on making eyeballs and teeth and ears to attach to the hood of her little jacket. Next is a fleece fringe around the neck, wrists, and ankles, and then spots.

2. Our trip didn’t really wear us out that much. It was really nice to get home, and Baby slept through the night for the second time in her life last night, but it was probably the most relaxing trip we’ve taken yet, even though we had so many different people to visit. I think it’s partly because Baby is a little older, and mostly because we didn’t have to cook at all.

3. S and I have started reading to each other in the evening after Baby goes to bed. I like this.

Goat said ‘maaa’

1. I got so focused on putting tonight’s dinner in the crock pot that it was almost 2 when I realized I hadn’t eaten lunch. I’m not a meal skipper, but it was pleasant getting so caught up in something.

2. And dinner was delicious. I made a goat curry, and it’s the sort of meal that it’s just hard to stop eating. The goat meat is tender and tasty from stewing all afternoon, white rice sops up the sauce, and you’re left blowing your nose from the heat.

3. S came with us to the library story hour. I’m glad he did, Baby will be a baby for such a short time and it’s really interesting getting to see her in new environments. Today, during the story, she crawled all the way across the room to a chair next to the lady reading. She pulled herself up and crowed and watched as the pages were turned.

Outing, Autumn, and finished

1. Baby and I had fun going to the mall today. I had an order to pick up, and then I pushed her through the whole mall, stopping in stores here and there. Baby seemed to enjoy the outing and spent some of her riding time making her growling sound.

2. The cooler weather is so much nicer for exercising! I need to do it to keep my back in order and to feel human, but I’m tired from the night wakings and when it’s warm in here, I kind of hate the exercise.

3. I finished Alexander McCall Smith’s book The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine and wish it hadn’t ended. I generally don’t read series, but his don’t deteriorate, and I’m looking forward to the next one.