Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Dunkin' Dumbnuts

I pulled up to the window. The young girl, crowned with headset, handed me today's newspaper. I looked at her with confusion. I said, "What's this for?" She mechanically responded, "One medium newspaper?"
"No." I put up my hand to refuse the paper and smiled. She hadn't caught her slip.
She re-checked her computer screen.
"Oh. One medium coffee."
"Yes."
"Cream and sugar. Here ya go. Have a nice day!"

I drove off, still smiling. One medium newspaper. I guess they only serve larges on the weekend.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

19 Months Already!

Hunny
Audrey and I went to the pediatrician for her 18 month appointment, a month late. She had three shots! Poor Bub. We also discovered that she has, yet another, nasty ear infection. No wonder she's been cranky lately. Hopefully, the antibiotic is working.
She weighs 30lbs and is 35 1/2 inches tall. This is the normal height and weight for a 2 1/2 year old!!! I asked the doctor if I should be worried. Of course, she said, "No." She's just going to be tall as all get out.

I'm going to drop the format I've been using for Audrey's monthly updates. From now on, I will just ramble in paragraph form. I hope this doesn't upset anyone. Here goes:

The past week has been a big one for Bub Bub. Her sentences are really taking form. Also, her ability to sing songs and retain information just blows us away. For instance, this morning I was singing the "Mommy loves you" song to her. When I finished, she, without hesitation, sang it right back to me. I couldn't believe how she held the tune. It was seriously amazing. Tim and I kept trying to recreate it all day long. In the car, while running some errands, we tried again. We both sang it to her and then said, "Now you sing it!" We waited. After a second or two, she said, "No. Mommy sing it." Tim and I just stared at each other with opened mouths. Yes, I sang it to her again.
(Okay, Goundhog Day is on. I'm a little distracted.)

I gave Audrey a haircut a week ago. I know, you're probably thinking, "That kid hardly has any hair on her head. Why in the world would you cut it any shorter?" Well, I just gave her a tiny snip-it. The back was getting kind of fuzzy. She had a little mullet forming. So, that's why I snipped it. Now, it's even in the back and looks much nicer. I saved her little ringlets to put in her baby book.

Isn't it funny how we forget to keep up with those damn baby books? I can't tell you how many entries I need to make. Forget about the baby book for a second. Scrapbooking! I have over 200 photographs that I need to scrap. I'm so incredibly behind. It's unspeakable really.

Back to Audrey.
The girl has quite a shoe fetish. She cannot resist going into Mommy's closet and trying on all of the different pairs of shoes. She likes to mix and match. We love to see her stumble around with a high heel on one foot and a sneaker on the other. She cries when she has trouble getting her feet into the studded mules. Those are her favorite. We got her some shiny play shoes for Christmas. I can't wait to see her reaction when she opens them up.

Let's see. We have also been attempting to potty train her.
View from the Bedroom
She's very good about saying, "Toilet?" when she has to go. Although, I suspect she's saying that after she's gone and not when she has to go. I say that because we've only been successful once with the pee-peeing.

What's really funny though, and is related to potty training, is this:
Tim tooted one afternoon and Audrey looked at him and said, "Poo Poo. Toilet?" It was clear as a bell. Even so, I said, "WHAT DID SHE SAY?" Tim said, "You haven't heard her say that yet?" No. I hadn't. (Probably because I don't pass gas often enough. Duh.)
I guess it's something that she picked up from school, but every time someone toots, she say's, "Poo Poo. Toilet!" It is the most hysterical thing. She'll even say it when the dogs fart. Sorry, I know that might be more than you wanted to hear. I can just imagine what it must be like at her day care. "Oh, Audrey farted. She must have to go poo poo. Put her on the toilet! Quick!"
Audrey's New Concoction
Let's talk about food. Audrey has been making some pretty strange concoctions as of late. The picture above is of apples in milk. I watched her dunk an apple and then eat it. She soon decided that it might be easier to put them all in the milk and then drink it. I have also witnessed her dunking grilled cheese and peanut butter and jelly in her milk.
It all ends up in the same place, as my father would say, but the grilled cheese dunk made me shiver. Blech. I hate soggy bread. So, I'm a little weirded out by this behavior.
Some other food favorites of hers are Mamaw's oatmeal raisin cookies, pizza, apple flavored yogurt, pancakes and of course eggs and soysage. Oh, and how could I forget nan-nahs?

Helllooooooooo Momma.
Every day we come downstairs, Audrey will go into the living room and stand near the threshold to say in awe, "Treeeeeee!" It is too cute. She has been studying her Christmas book. She points out Christmas trees and stars and Santas. She needs to read up on reindeer though. She sees one and shouts out, "Bunny!" Reindeer are bunnies.
Cramming for the Big Event...
She is really getting me in the holiday spirit. I've already finished my shopping and wrapped everything! Audrey has been having so much fun with the empty wrapping paper rolls. I taught her how to shout down the tube. She likes how it sounds. She yells, "Hellllooooooo Mommmmmmmmaaaaa!" I love it.

I can't even begin to tell you all of the funny things she says. She keeps Tim and I in stitches. She gets smarter every day. It's scary, really.

How many more days until Christmas?
I hope our cards make it out in time. (wink wink)

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Better Than Candy

iPod Vending Machine

Tim and I went to Perimeter Mall last night on the hunt for a winter coat for Audrey. We have been all over town looking for a simple winter coat. No hearts. No fur. No glitter. No animal print. We wanted something just plain and warm. Seems so simple, right?
Guess again.
It's amazing how many winter coats are out there for boys. Only a few selections are available for girls. It was super frustrating.
We did find one last night- a true winter coat, just in time for Mr.Winter. Finally!

We had a good time at the mall, surprisingly. Holiday shopping usually makes me ill.
We ate in the food court, where a fellow employee recognized me and called me Mona. (I'm still laughing at that one.) After a craptastic dinner, we went to Starbucks. I savored all of about 3 sips of my tall Chai Tea. They fill those cups up with way too much ice, but it was tasty. We stuck Audrey on her first mechanical mall ride, Thomas the Train. She hated it. It was awesome. I'm glad she doesn't like that Thomas stuff. (Although, she does like trains, which makes me proud.) And last, but not least, we discovered the iPod vending machine. Of course, I had to take a picture. I'd like one of everthing, please!
Train
Upon leaving I talked Tim into taking a family picture in front of some lights. He was reluctant, but complied. This is what I got:
Aw, Nuts!
(You can click on the picture to read more about it in the description)

I am so behind on my 'To Do List' for the holidays. Thank God tomorrow is Friday.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

What have I been up to?

Making Wishes
Man, how time flies.
I swear within the past two days about 4 or 5 people have asked me why I haven't blogged. I didn't realize you cared! No, really, I have no excuse.

So, since my last post, I turned 32. Tim and I had our 5th wedding anniversary. Audrey started talking in sentences. I found out I owed the hospital over a grand that I thought was taken care of by my insurance. (Merry Xmas everyone! I hope you like homemade cookies.) I got deathly ill and missed 4 days of work. We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving with friends and family. I'm sure there are several other events that are slipping my mind. I can always backtrack though, so, I figure I'll move on.

I feel very guilty about missing Audrey's 18 month update. I have been so good up until this now. Better late than never, right?

(Pretend it's November 13th)
HAPPY 18 MONTHS BUB BUB!
The sushi was a no-go, but the rice was tasty.
For my birthday, we went out for sushi. I was hoping Audrey would willingly sink her teeth into some unagi, but it didn't happen.

RIGHT NOW...
My favorite thing about you is: This is a hard month to pick one favorite thing. You are constantly making me laugh. Well, that might be my favorite thing. You know how to make a joke now. You are very playful. You make a face like you are starting to get upset, but then quickly change to a smile or a laugh. That's another thing. You laugh so much! It's awesome. I guess my most favorite thing is how quickly you pick up on things now. For example, Lindsay sent me Maurice Sendak's pop up book for my B-day. I read it to you and immediately you understood that the boy was looking for his mommy. After reading it, you looked at me and playfully said, "MOOOOOMMMY?" Of course I chimed in, right on cue with, "BABY!" (I guess you kind of have to know the book to understand that.) Anyway, it also kills me how you say, "Oh, nuts!" Hee hee. That will never get old. Oh, and how could I forget your new quirk? Here it is:
Pullng Up Her Sleeves
Complete with the Audrey smile, she must have her sleeves pulled up. She is very particular about it. There are so many more things, but I guess I will just roll them over into the 19 month update. I have to get back into the swing of this blogging thing.
Oh one more that just came to me- I love that whenever we go outside you immediately look for the moon. You love to point to the moon. If the moon is not visible, you find a plane or a helicopter and shout it out so excitedly. If only we lived out in the country, you'd know what stars are.

The biggest relief would be: If you would stop pooping in the tub. I think we're up to 7 or 8 times now. YUCK. Maybe you are getting the tub mixed up with the big girl potty. They are not the same thing.
A Girl and Her Battleship.

What I’m most looking forward to is: being able to carry on conversation with you. I ask you, "How was school?" every day when I pick you up. A couple of days ago you answered, "Good." I nearly cried. I can't wait to hear what your thoughts are.

New words: I'm going to solicit Tim's help with this tomorrow. I can't even think about all of them right now.

Some of the funny things you've done lately: Just tonight I was reading a book to you. You spotted a perfectly illustrated slice of pizza on one of the pages. You pointed and screamed, "PISSSSA!" You must have repeated it 30 times. I decided right then that when your dad got home we were headed for Mellow Mushroom. The waiter cracked up when he saw you jumping up and down in the booth saying, "PISSA! PISSA! PISSA!" as he was bringing out the pie. I think you made him feel very special tonight.
Sock Baby!
It's 1am and I could keep typing, but I really need to get to bed. I will dedicate more time and thought to the next entry. Promise.
Nanabee, I hope this will do for now.

Oh, one more thing. She finally decided that milk wasn't so bad:
Got Milk?