Thanks A Lot Daycare

So yeah, Taylor has been in daycare for exactly 3 days. I knew that her return would also usher in the return of ear infections, snotty noses etc. But seriously, I thought it would take longer than 3 freakin' days! Taylor woke up yesterday in a fabulous mood (again, insert sarcastic tone here), and we just assumed she was tired from the new routine, plus she had stayed up late the night before. Well, even after her nap, she was pitching fits left and right. I'm talking about the fall down in the floor kicking and screaming kind of fits. I honestly don't know how many times we got on to her for various things. Yeah, then around 3:00, after she had just gotten in trouble for mashing up the orange I had given her as a snack and smearing it all over the table, she starts throwing up all over the kitchen.

Needless to say, Jody and I felt like complete assholes for getting on to her throughout the day when obviously it was all because she didn't feel good (in our defense though, she didn't start running a fever until after the puking began). Unfortunately, the kitchen was not an isolated incident. After it began she was pretty much throwing up every 1-3 hours until about 2:30 this morning. I guess it's a motherhood thing, because poor Jody was not even close to capable of cleaning up after her. So I spent my day mopping up nastiness and doing countless loads of laundry. Sadly, my cel phone was a casualty in one of these many loads. In my rush to strip out of my Taylor-soaked jeans and get them in the wash, I totally forgot that it was in my back pocket. So, if you haven't done so already, email me your phone number, because I totally lost all of my contacts.

On the upside, knock on wood, Taylor has kept everything down since 2:30 this morning and her fever has gone down considerably. She is just going to take it easy today, and I plan on joining her in that effort.

My little pathetic Munkie. She refused to lay in her bed, so we're settling for the floor.

Welcome Back

Today marked the return of Taylor to daycare after her nearly one year hiatus. We've been fortunate in that Jody was able to stay at home with her while he was going to school, but since he starts back to work on Monday, we decided to go ahead and get her started back a few days early just in case he needed to go and pick her up if it didn't go well.

Honestly, I anticipated a knock-down drag-out battle at the drop off. Every day when I leave for work Jody practically has to pry her off of me in order for me to get out the door on time. Plus to boot, someone woke up in an absolutely fabulous mood today (insert sarcastic tone here) and cried the entire time I was getting her ready to go. She didn't start to perk up until she realized that unlike every other day, today she got to leave with me. This was all well and good, and she seemed excited once we walked into the daycare. I'm pretty sure she just thought that the both of us were going to play with the other kids for a while, and then go home.

One of the perks to daycare is that they provide breakfast and lunch (provided you get there before 8:00, which works out perfectly with our schedule). So I sat her down at the little table and they promptly brought her a "muffin" and a cup of milk. Now, I'm using quotes around muffin, because that's what the menu claimed was for breakfast today. However, the tiny excuse for a muffin that they brought to her could really only be described as a donut hole at best. Taylor literally shoved the entire thing in her mouth at once and then looked up at the lady serving as if to say, "Ok, now what?" And before anyone panics that she may starve to death, fear not, they brought her another "muffin" as soon as she inhaled the first one. As she was chewing rather contentedly I went ahead and said my goodbyes and headed for the door. She pretty much just watched me walk out with no real reaction whatsoever.

Now, mind you, the very first time I ever dropped Taylor off at daycare when she was only six weeks old was easy-peasy. I walked in, gave my instructions for the day, kissed her and was pretty much shoved out the door by the lady working her room. Then I calmly walked out, went to work, and made it through my day without much worry. Yeah, today, not so much. I'm totally going to pin the blame on pregnancy hormones, but I bawled like a freakin' baby. Fortunately I made it out to the car before I had my meltdown, but either way, I was still inexplicably emotional over the whole thing. When several of my co-workers asked about the drop-off after I got to work, I started tearing up again and finally had to just tell them to ask me after lunch when I had a better handle on the situation.

I did call and check in at lunch, and Jody picked her up around 3:00ish. According to her teacher, she did very well. They said she "didn't cry very much," but that she didn't really nap much either. I'm not terribly surprised, I'm figuring that it's going to take a while for her to get used to sleeping in an open room amongst 7 other kids. But I'm just thankful we both made it through the day relatively unscathed, I'm just afraid that tomorrow may be worse. The director mentioned that most kids do worse on the second day because they know what's coming (aka - mom's leaving for the whole day).

On our way out. I didn't really want to be in the picture, but someone kept falling down into a crying heap every time I tried to make her stand by herself for a picture.

Wishing for Summer

I won't lie, I've been absolutely dying to get some water toys for the backyard and bust out with the summer fun. Maybe it's because I'm sick of being pregnant, and the beginning of summer coincides with the end of my current largeness (And yes, I realize I still have a lot of growing to do. But considering how uncomfortable I already am, I'm NOT looking forward to the remainder of this.). But not only that, I'm excited for Taylor to finally be old enough to actually enjoy summer. Last year we discovered that yes, she really liked floating in the pool, but now that she's older it's way more fun to watch her actually get excited and enjoy playing in the water. I really wanted to buy her this beach ball/sprinkler thingie that hooks up to the hose, but due to my procrastination they were all sold out once I was motivated enough to actually go and purchase the damn thing. So, we settled for a glorified sprinkler instead. She was a little apprehensive at first (And ok, maybe it wasn't really quite warm enough outside to justify frolicking around in the freezing cold water from the hose.), but after a few minutes she got over her fears and went for it full throttle. Considering how little spray this toy actually produces, she did an impressive job of getting herself completely soaking wet. I'm thinking my next purchase will be another "mighty pool" (That's a reference from long ago, if you ever hung out with us at the trailer park, you'll know what I'm talking about.).

Ok, so what's the point of this again?

She stood there for literally about 5 minutes trying to decide what to do next.

Taking a break from the sprinkler to eat Dad's popsicle.

God bless iPhoto's retouching feature. Look Ma, no snot!

And, then she got the hang of it. Note our lovely brown grass because I refuse to let Jody water it, lol!

Beating the crap out of Daddy with a stick.

Yeah, I'd say she had a good time!

Spring Fever!

Hallelujah, it's finally getting warmer outside! And to boot, we just got our annual dose of suffering due to the start of Daylight Savings Time - which means that the sun stays out longer to play, yippee! I'll deal with a week of adjusting my sleep pattern for that extra hour, it makes life sooo much better. Plus, spring is the natural predecessor for summer, and summer ushers in the end of me being pregnant. Double yay!!!!

As far as the pregnancy goes, Taylor 2.0 (that's what we're calling her for now, name is still undetermined) is growing nicely up into my lungs. I find myself getting winded a lot easier, and also have felt a little foot getting caught in my ribs a time or two. And other than the heartburn and other pregnancy related aches and pains, I'm feeling relatively ok considering I'm not a huge fan of the gestational process.

Taylor on the other hand is doing swell. She is slated to start back at daycare on the 28th, I'm very nervous, but also really excited for her. I think the daily socialization with kids her age will be of tremendous help to her (she doesn't play very well with others right now.....), plus the structure and routine is an added bonus. In other news, we're about 99% on peeing in the potty, but she is now refusing to poop in the toilet. I know this is a typical hurdle for kids, and I'm sure we'll figure it out soon enough. But considering that her poops have pretty much surpassed an adult's in size, the fact that they're not making it into the potty really makes for an unpleasant cleanup.

Jody is officially done with school as of last Friday (HOOOOORAY!!!!!!), and because we're superstitious, I don't want to jinx anything by giving any news just yet. But considering Taylor is starting daycare, I'll let you draw your own conclusions. Rest assured official announcements and updates will come in due time.

Other than that we've just been laying low and enjoying being bums around the house. In keeping with springtime traditions, Taylor and I are nice and snot-tastic thanks to our lovely allergies. Unfortunately, that was one thing she definitely got from me. Praise Jesus for the fact that Zyrtec is over the counter!


Daaaaaaaaad! Wake up!


If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.


This is how she loves on Cleo. She mashes her head down on top of her and says, "Awwww!" Poor cat!


My little tomboy, as long as she has a stick, we're in good shape.


Not sure what is more awesome in this photo, her glasses or Jody in his giant hat!

We're Starting to Get a Little More Prepared

Ok, so we have established that the baby I'm carrying is indeed a girl. Yay! However, I have to laugh at how everyone I encounter now has a boatload of questions regarding said baby. "What's her name?" "Have you picked out a nursery theme yet?" "Where will she be going to college?" Jeez, I know a lot of women (especially first-timers) will be able to spew forth intelligent answers to these questions with little or no hesitation whatsoever. Unfortunately, that's just not how we roll. For anyone who's ever spent any real time with my husband, you know how methodical he is in making any decision whatsoever. Sometimes ordering at a restaurant can be a debacle. So, needless to say, a decision as big as naming our child (because it's a pretty long-term choice) is going to take a while. His philosophy is more along the lines of, "as long as she has a name by the time she's born, we're good." And, even though I'm a bit more of a planner, I have to agree. I guess since this isn't my first rodeo I'm not bursting at the seams to run out and spend a crapload of money on baby supplies. I assure you all, this child will be fully clothed (we definitely have that department covered), well fed, and will not be sleeping in a dresser drawer. Just be patient with us! I promise as the developments come I'll be very forthcoming with the info. In the meantime, I did pick out our nursery bedding (See? I'm starting to come around) and I've added a picture below.

Ta-Da!

It's a Girl!

We finally got the much awaited news on Friday that we're having another little girl! Poor Jody, the only XY chromosome in the house. Maybe someday I'll cave and let him have a boy dog or something. But that aside, everything about this baby is developing perfectly, and she is right on schedule with my due date. As far as names, we're still undecided. Jody wanted to wait until after we found out before we started that process, this way we only have to pick one name as opposed to two. But, I promise I'll keep everyone posted as we make our decision.


Here's baby's face (to the right, the small black circle is her eye).


Sorry Jody!


In Taylor news, she is doing awesome with her potty training. I would estimate that she makes it to the potty about 85% of the time nowadays. One little problem we've run into is that she adamantly refuses to use the potty at all if she is wearing her pants or pull up when we sit her down. So, you will probably notice that she is pantless in most of our recent pictures these days. Basically, it's a pain in the butt to get her in and out of her jeans every 45 minutes when she has to go potty.


The pantless wonder strikes again.

But also, on a good note, Taylor has started trying to talk a little more, finally. I was seriously beginning to worry a little that she may be behind developmentally. But I'm starting to feel a little better about it all.