The Denist

I, like any other rational and normal adult human being, haven't been to the dentist in over 5 years.

However I do have an appointment in a week and half (as does Bryan, who hasn't been in longer) and we found out that our insurance is "incentive" insurance - so going every 6 months increases the amount they pay for services. This means that we may will actually go every 6 months.

Especially since we discovered that the kids (Penelope in particular) just *love* going to the dentist.

Did you think I was being sarcastic? I wasn't. Am I being sarcastic now? Nope, still genuine. I know. I'm shocked too.

Sissy started off her appointment in my lap, but soon decided that she was a big girl and could do it by herself. So she sat in the chair and dutifully obeyed every command the dentist and dental assistant gave her. She kept her mouth open while they counted, scraped, polished, and brushed. She allowed the dental assistant to use that loud liquid sucking contraption. She let the dentist floss her teeth. She didn't bite the dentist.

She sat still for x-rays.

They only took two (of her front teeth - upper and lower) and - you guys - the d@mn x-rays made me CRY. Why? Because you can see, especially on the bottom, just how close her permanent teeth are to the surface. We still have a year or so before she starts to loose teeth... but holycrappeople she just GOT those teeth!

And? AND? The entire dental office was shocked and amazed that she was only 3 1/2. They pegged her for 5 or 6. SIX. How can she be close to six? I JUST GAVE BIRTH TO HER.

*sigh*

And then there was Bubby. Who did well - but was too squirmy for anything other than some teeth counting and a quick fluoride treatment. His 2 year molars are almost finished popping up (thankyousweetbabyZeus), so I'm hoping that soon his sleep will be... better.

The office really was terrific. So if you're ever looking for a family friendly dentist in Salinas, let me know. Dr. Moran is terrific.

She thought we were pretty terrific too - no cavities (I know, they're so young, but it's shocking how many toddlers I see with caps & fillings), no plaque, kids brush 2x a day, and (starting yesterday, after our appointment) we floss daily. She will be less impressed with us after B and I go in. We have good brushing practices, but neither one of us floss regularly and we're both soda drinkers - plus it's been so long since our last visit that I'm sure one or both of us will need a filling or two.

Oh well, at least the kids are off to a good start...

Teeth and lullabies

First off, happy mothers day to all my fellow mommies.

Secondly, why is it that Griffin sleeps great for everyone but us? He only woke up once last night while at my parents house. No fair. Oh well, at least I got to sleep in so happy mothers day to me.

Perhaps his decent sleep is because molar#4 broke through. So he now has twelve teeth, although not all his molars are all the way in. I'm hoping that in the next week or so they'll all be functional so he can chew his food instead of just swallowing it. Of course, that probably won't happen since he shovels the stuff in like we've been withholding it. Boys.

I wanted to talk a little about lullabies, but I can't figure out a decent segway from teeth talk. Consider this your transition.

When I was pregnant (both times around) I would sing to the kids, Griffin got a lot of it since I sang Penelope to sleep each night. I have my regular "set list" and add songs as needed. Usually one round is enough although there are some nights when I give multiple encores. Sometimes I end up on autopilot when I'm tired and will end up singing the same song over and over - then that songs will end up playing in my dreams, which isn't as awesome as it sounds, it's actually rather annoying.

So for the record, here's the set list:
Baby Mine from the Dumbo soundtrack
Stay Awake from the Mary Poppins soundtrack
Goodnight My Angel by Billy Joel
Baby James by James Taylor
Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn

Occasionally I'll throw in a Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald tune like Always or Miss Otis Regrets or Someone to Watch Over Me

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Nice to meet you!

Pen's new trick is to ask to shake your hand. She then says "Nice to meet you!" Then she has you shake Woody's hand.

Over. And over. And over again.

It is HILARIOUS.

Tomorrow we take family pics. I'm not sure when I'll have finished products to share. We will get a CD of pictures so I'll be able to post quite a few on the blog.

Also? Molar #2 is peeking through. So we're up to 10 teeth. Neither molar is completely out, that will probably take a week or so at least. Possibly longer. Molars are the WORST (IMO) and it sucks that there's so many of them (well, for teething purposes, not for actual eating purposes).

Speaking of eating, we have discovered that Griffin loves bacon. So Penelope and I will be the vegetarians in the family and Bryan and Griffin can go on wild boar hunts or some other such nonsense.

More teeth!

So I was right, Griffin is getting molars. One of his top molars is peeking through. So that explains some of the snot of the past few days. The top teeth always seem to bring more mucous than the bottom. Probably something to do with some sort of connection between the nasal cavity and the maxilla (yeah, I looked that up).

So now he has nine teeth even though #9 isn't all the way through.

He is also waving hello and goodbye and trying to repeat words. My parents swear he said "flower" the other day.

He's also getting closer to walking but isn't quite there yet. Maybe by his birthday, maybe not. I know he'll be very happy when he's mobile, right now I bring his push-walker almost everywhere so he can explore.

Poe-potamous has been... defiant lately. That has not been enjoyable. About half the time she's her normal self and the other half she's "no, no, NO!" No fun.

So we've done our fair share of time outs and they work for awhile, but it's not like this can be "fixed" - it's a phase. It will just take a lot of consistency in discipline.

I actually had a long post planned, but I cannot remember it. You would think that after finishing my Masters I would get my brain back, but no. In fact, this weekend I took the kids to their friend Busy's 2nd birthday party a day before the actual party. I was soooo embarrassed. Luckily Holly & Ryan are lovely and let us stay and play for awhile. Penelope was happy to get to play with Busy two days in a row, so it worked out. But I still can't believe I mixed it up, usually I'm great with days.

Mommy brain I guess. Or post-Masters fog. Or I'm just getting too close to 30.

Conversations and Imagination

I've been having conversations with my children since they were in utero (respectively). These conversations have been mostly one-sided, and any response on their part was mostly babble or in pre-speak (which sounds a lot like gibberish). After awhile you get rather adept at translating toddler-speak, so Poe and I have had many conversations in the past few months that have been quite fulfilling and incredibly amusing. Lately her lexicon and enunciation has markedly improved and we can have quite lengthy conversations about everything she sees... which is a lot.

Here are snippets of today's conversations.

P: Mommy, sing "Dinosaur Train" song please.
M: Really?
P: Yes please.
M: *sigh* ok. *sings DT song*
P: Thank you Mommy, that was beautiful.

(As an aside, I have become (remain??) a jukebox for my children. Penelope regularly requests her favorites and Griffin's car wailing is only stopped by certain songs. Poe's current favorite are the Dinosaur Train song, B-I-N-G-O (she calls it "mango"), the Kipper song, and the Caillou song. We haven't watched Caillou in ages - I despise that cartoon - so I made up new lyrics: "I'm just a boy whose 4, each day I grow some more, I'm so obnoxious I'm Caillou! So many things to do, each day is something new, I'm quite annoying I'm Caillou!")

M: Ok, pick out a new diaper.
P: Hmmmm... I think I want the polka dot diaper
M: You sure?
P: Yes. Please.
M: Ok. You know, Mommy made this diaper.
P: Good job Mommy! It's soft!

Often times these conversations will revolve around her quite vivid imagination...

P: Mommy, I'm Tiny Pteranodon! You're Mommy Pteradnon! (From the Dinosaur Train series)
M: Ok, SQUAWK!
P: SQUAWK! What's Bubba? Hmmm. Bubba is...
M: Don? Buddy?
P: Yes, Buddy. Bubba is Buddy! Hahaha.
M: Who is Daddy?
P: Silly Mommy, Daddy is Daddy Pteranodon.
M: Of course he is. Are we riding the dinosaur train now?
P: Yes. Whoa! That's fun. Whee!
M: Time tunnel approaching!
P: No mama, that's Mr. Conductor. I'm Mr. Conductor.
M: Oh, I thought you were Tiny.
P: I'm Tiny too!
M: Got it.

She cracks.me.up.

Oh! Griffin's 8th tooth has officially arrived! I'm hoping we get a few days before the next round. Although I hope it's not longer than a week. While I hate teething, I'd really like for him to get in a set of molars already - he really wants to eat everything and I can't give him some foods w/o his molars.

And his "yearbook" is almost finished. Once I have it done I'll post a link so everyone can look it over. I'll have it printed like I did for Pen and at his 1st birthday party people can write him notes :) I love how P's turned out and I'm liking the look of G's so far.

I should probably work on it now that I have a few minutes. Tomorrow I'll be writing my Thesis so tonight I'll give myself a little time for the yearbook.

And... I've lost 17 lbs since New Years Eve. Woot!

Plants, Paints, and Pictures

More than anything else in the world (well, maybe not more than watching Toy Story) Penelope loves to paint. Last weekend we had a painting playdate with our friends Holly and her daughter 'Busy' - Poe had a fabulous time until it was time to put the paints away and then she had an epic tantrum. The likes of which are rarely seen. But it was still a good day, and they girls made some beautiful flowers which Penelope and I "planted" the other day. Here are some pictures:


Pen & Busy


Planting our flowers


Our flower garden!!

Also? Griffin has tooth #7! Finally... it's been awhile since his last tooth. I'm hoping #8 makes an appearance so he's not lopsided :)

More pics:


Bubba loves the bath!


Penelope decided to wear her Abby costume for the day. Daddy did her hair.

Oh please, sweet goddess of the night, let him sleep

Griffin's lack of sleep is driving me insane. Literally. I have been diagnosed with PPD. And while I'm sure it's not solely due to sleep deprivation, the sleep dep. plays a huge role.

So we're working on getting more sleep. It's a slow process. And for those of you who are curious, no I am not on medication. My midwives and I agree that we want to try and eliminate the possible causes before they refer me for medication. I feel much better now that I've talked to them and we have a plan... and now that I've gone "public" so to speak. Keeping it all inside was really hard.

Anyway, back to G's sleep (or lack thereof). Today we bought a white noise machine. We've also increased the amount of food he gets during the day and added in fish oil - the extra calories will hopefully help him sleep longer. Bryan now gets up with him once a night and gives him a bottle (instead of me bringing him into bed and nursing him all night). He does eventually make his way into bed and I do still nurse him through the night but it's getting (slightly) better. I really hope the noise machine is the silver bullet here and we get a decent night's sleep.

He did break tooth #5 today so maybe that will help. I also gave him some Tylenol tonight since we just discovered the new tooth. Hyland teething tablets have been recalled and they were our "go-to" for teething so now we have to use Tylenol (or the off-brand from Target). His gums weren't swollen so I didn't realize he was teething! So far his teeth have come in pairs so maybe #6 is on its way.

Both Bryan and I will be happy when G is out of this stage and sleeping through the night. When he's 14 and I can't get him out of bed I will revisit this post and laugh.

Tooth 4 - and an apology to Griffin

G-man got tooth #4 two days ago...

Which brings me to the first of what I am sure will be many apologies.

Dear Griffin,

Mommy is sorry that a blog listing your many accomplishments and milestones are not written or posted 2 seconds after said accomplishment or milestone. I am sorry that your every waking moment is not spent taking thousands of pictures which I then wade through a post ad nauseum. I am sorry that when you look back on this blog as a young adult that you will not see as many entries gushing over your infant years as there are of your sister.

Having two babies is hard, and it's even harder when mommy and daddy are both working and in school. We don't have a lot of free time (especially since you're not fond of sleeping) and blogging and picture taking have become low on our priority list.

But let me assure you that even though we are not obsessively chronicling each moment of your life, we are noticing and celebrating each new step you take. And let me also assure you (young adult Griffin who is possibly reading this) that we are having FUN. You are a joyful, smiling baby who keeps us busy. You love to move, jump, laugh, and play. Every moment we spend with you is a full moment - and so even if we had the time we probably wouldn't take it to blog since it's so much fun just being your parents.

Granted, it would be a lot MORE fun if you'd sleep so we could sleep (or blog, whatever), but at least when you wake us up in the wee-small hours of the morning you do so with a smile on your face and big slobbery kiss (or you try and punch us in the face, but I know it's out of a combination of love and an inability to fully control your arm's movements).

So anyway, we love you very much. The number of pictures or blog posts in no way represents our love for you or your sister. And one day when you have kids (PLEASE let that be after college) you will understand that while second babies get the shaft when it comes to pictures and baby books they get just as much love as first babies... more in some ways since your sister loves you as much as we do. You may not believe it when you read it (and she may never admit it when she's older) but Penelope adores you. She won't go to bed without giving you a kiss and even shares her Elmo dolls with you. If that isn't love I don't know what is.

Love,
Mommy

PS - you love your sister too. Every time you see her you smile... and she's one of the few people who can always make you laugh and you stare at her with adoration when she's near you.

Tooth #3

So we finally have a top tooth. Hopefully this means we'll all get a bit more sleep tonight although I won't hold my breath.

More later, I'm going to make it a priority to take pictures of the kids this weekend.

Rough night

Last night was a rough one. Griffin didn't sleep well at all. He's teething and congested (which is due to the teething). This all equals one fussy, mouth breathing baby who thinks biting mommy in the middle of the night is a good idea.

I'm exhausted and sore.

Not really looking forward to the rest of today.

Teething and nursing OR Why no one is getting any sleep.

Teething continues. And this time around it's no picnic. Not like teething was a picnic with Penelope, but it wasn't quite the clusterf**k it is this time around.

Maybe clusterf**k isn't the right word. But I can't think of anything better right now.

Griffin's sleep is crap. He's constantly got something in his mouth. I've been bitten four times already tonight (and not on my hand, he likes to use milk-producing parts of me as a teether). Last night Bryan took him so I could get some sleep, I've been waking up with monster headaches in the morning and I needed to get at least a solid six hours. The boys stayed up until G fell asleep at 11:20 and he thankfully slept until almost 5. The night before G was up at least 4 times to nurse and was very restless, it wasn't fun for either one of us.

I think that part of it is my supply. While I've been lucky to nurse this long I think my supply is starting to dry up. I still have milk, but we need to supplement more and more with formula. Part of this is also that G is getting bigger and just needs more food, but my supply can't keep up either way. It's a little sad, but not unexpected. I really hope that at the very least I'll still be able to nurse him overnight. But then again I really hope he starts sleeping through the night soon. Like tonight.

I'm pumping while at work - on my prep period - and it sucks. I hate it. I have 1,000 other things I would really like to use my prep period for, one of which is observations of other classrooms. It's part of what student teaching is all about - observing more teachers will only help me improve my own teaching practice. But when I have to take 15 minutes out of prep to pump it makes observations difficult. I also have grading and planning I could use the time for, but those I can do outside of school so they're less of a priority.

There is one good thing about pumping. It guarantees that at least once a day I get time completely to myself. I can read a little, I can listen to music, I can (sort of) relax. And while I think of my kids all the time, it gives me an opportunity to really stop and think about what they're doing.

Because while I love teaching, I love my kids more - and I miss them during the day.

But my student teaching gig is going well. There are frustrating days and moments, but those just happen anyway. And the more proficient I become at classroom management and planning the less frustrating things get. I haven't yet taught a lesson I think is 'perfect', everything could use a little tweaking and improvement. Not to say that I haven't had some great days, because I have. But I learn a lot about how to improve even from the great days. The day I stop trying to improve my teaching practice is the day I need to stop teaching.

It is time consuming though. We're constantly busy. Between my student teaching, my coursework, Bryan's job, and Bryan's school (plus everything else kid-related) we don't have a lot of downtime. We juggle so much that a fair amount has been put on the back burner. Things like vacuuming and laundry... and date night. Since G is still breastfed at night we haven't had a kid sleepover at my parents in quite awhile. So Bryan and I haven't been out together since... well, I can't remember when. November is our next scheduled date, for the opening of Harry Potter. Although since that falls on a Wednesday night we may not be able to make the midnight showing - I have to teach the next day. We'll see.

I also neglected to blog about turning 29, but since it's just a warm-up to 30 we really didn't do a whole lot to celebrate it. I'm more excited about the kids' birthdays than mine. 29, big whoop.

I do have other things that I've been meaning to blog about, like parenting decisions (we've decided not to circumcise Griffin for a variety of reasons), thoughts on my credentialing program, lawyers (and why we've decided not to sue my former employers), and the fact that we're contemplating moving out of CA once I have my credential (anyone in other states know of a school district that's hiring English teachers?).

I will try to blog soon. The operative word is try. I have a couple of TPAs due, lesson plans to write, papers to grade, and babies to parent. This list is obviously not in order of importance :)

Oh! Penelope got her first black eye today. She was trying to grab something out of reach and smacked her head into the "table" (i.e. TV tray) we have next to the couch. It's not super dark, but it's noticeable. I will attempt to locate our camera to document this latest "first".

AND Griffin is sitting up on his own. Only for 10 seconds or so, but still.

Sleep... and teething

Griffin's sleep is wacky. His napping is inconsistent and lately he's been waking up 4-5 times during the night to nurse. This is not cool.

I blame teething. He has one tooth and #2 is just below the surface. I'm hoping that it will break through sometime this weekend so we can get back to a somewhat normal night schedule for the week. Things are only going to get busier in our lives, so it would be nice if we were able to get a decent amount of sleep.

So that's really all I have to say on sleep and teething. There's really not much more to it. I want more sleep and teething sucks.

Things have been busy since I started student teaching, but we've gotten into a rhythm and I think we've all adjusted well. Poe is a tad clingier since I stopped spending all day every day with her, but that's to be expected. Both kids love spending time with my Dad so I'm so very thankful that he's available to watch them while I'm teaching and Bryan is working. I do really miss spending time with the kids, and all of our mommy and baby friends, but I also enjoy teaching. Hopefully once my student teaching is over I'll be able to find a (paying) job teaching in the area. Although Bryan and I haven't ruled out moving out of Sac or our of Cali.

I'm at Mira Loma High School right now, and it's great. I have 2 classes of Sophomores and 3 of Freshman. So far I'm teaching full time in 3 of my 5 classes and will soon be teaching full time in all 5. Each class is different and its been interesting to see how a year in grade level, the time of day, and class size all affect student behaviors. I have one class that can be very difficult, but as the semester progresses they're starting to settle down. My classroom management skills have vastly improved since the beginning of the semester but I still have work to do. I honestly don't think a classroom teacher ever stops learning and improving when it comes to both teaching techniques and classroom management. Well, maybe some do, but not the really effective teachers.

Back to School Night is next week and I think I'm more nervous about meeting parents than I was about the first day of school!

This next week should be a good one though. I have some fun stuff planned for my Sophomores (well, stuff I think is fun) and I'm feeling really good about my schedule for my 6th period Freshman. I owe them candy for behaving themselves for an entire week (best $25 I ever spent) and last week was hopefully a turning point for that class. We'll see, but I'm optimistic about the rest of the semester.

Once we start Romeo & Juliet with the Freshman I'll be teaching all 5 classes (plus I have a seminar class, TPAs to complete, and a Thesis to start/finish) so I'll be even busier. In a way I'm glad I'm taking all this on while the kids are young, but it's also sad to miss so much of the little everyday milestones.

Oh well, in the long run finishing my Masters and Credential will be what's best for this family so it's worth it.

And Bryan starts his core coursework soon (no more undergrad stuff!). He's got a 3.8 GPA right now and just finished Math. It will be really nice when we're both done with school and have time to spend it together - we really don't see each other much. We'll have to do something nice for our anniversary - 3 years! We've done quite a lot in three years ;)

Ok, time for bed. Must sleep while I can since I'm sure G-man will be up at least 3 times tonight.

Tooth!

Griffin got his first tooth today, the lower front tooth (stage left). I have a feeling its buddy will show up in the next few days.

I really dislike teething... but at least we have one down. Only 19 more to go :/

Letters and Teeth

Penelope is fascinated with letters. She likes to point them out and say "this" - which is basically asking us to name which letter it is. She knows a few already - "O", "C", and "A"... sometimes she gets "S" & "R" correct.

And Griffin is teething - his two bottom teeth have almost broken through the gums!

Pools, rooms, and teeth

This afternoon Pen and I met up with a bunch of our mommy friends for lunch, play, and pool-time. There's an indoor pool in Roseville that has inexpensive open swim, so after a delicious lunch (thanks to Sarah & Alisha), we headed over and hopped in.

Penny was in love. She's been swimming before, but it has been awhile since she's been in that much water. The pool was a little on the cool side (although not as cold as it would have been had the pool been outside) but Penny didn't seem to care. She laughed, splashed, and did her very best to escape from my clutches. She thinks she can swim, and as soon as she got comfortable (it was loud and new so it took her a few minutes to warm up to the place) she wanted nothing to do with me and spent the rest of our time in the pool pushing me away and kicking furiously (while laughing and screeching with happiness). It was cute, but exhausting. This summer should be a lot of fun :)

Yesterday we started the long process of getting P's new room ready (so "&" can have the nursery). I sorted through a ton of clothes Pen's outgrown, pulling out all of the newborn-3 month sized outfits and boxing up everything else (by size - so when we need them they're easy to access... provided "&" is a girl). Those, plus a bunch of my pre-pregnancy clothes went into the garage. We have to move the furniture out next (and by "we" I mean Bryan), rewire some stuff, put in insulation, sheet rock, texture, and paint.

We weren't really planning on repainting, but the more I think about it the more I don't want Penny to have a blue room. I certainly don't want her to have a [i]pink[/i] room, but plain blue walls? Doesn't really sound appealing. Of course, having a theme and doing anything fancy requires money that we just don't have. I'll have to do some searching online to get ideas on how to make her room cute without breaking the bank. She'll need a sheet set for that Queen sized bed so maybe that will dictate what the room looks like. I'll have to keep an eye out at Target or even Ross and then we'll go from there. It's certainly not essential that Penelope has a coordinated room, but if we can make it work then I'd like to have one for her.

As for teeth... I think the light at the end of the tunnel is approaching. We need one more canine to break through and then we technically have all of her teeth "in" - they won't all be fully in for awhile, but at least they'll all have at least broken through the gums. Of course, we only have a little break until she gets her two year molars. And then she'll loose all the d@mn teeth and get her adult ones later >:|

Have I mentioned how much I hate teething???

Tomorrow Bryan is taking her to a museum with Daddy/baby friends while Sarah and I make cloth diapers! Wish us luck, I hope they turn out - it'll save us a ton!

It's not perfect, but we make it work

A full night's sleep continues to be the most elusive of our goals. For the past few weeks (or has it been more than a month?) Penelope's sleep has gone from great to inconsistent and frustrating. I continue to blame it on teething since she has 1/2 of both her top molars still coming in, the left eye tooth 1/8 of the way in, and the right eye tooth close to breaking through the gums. If that much was going on in my mouth I probably wouldn't sleep well either.

Combine it with a wicked cough, Bryan's flu, my pregnancy (and my own wicked cough), and no one is getting their recommended amount of sleep at night.

But it could be worse. A lot worse.

Last night P was up twice, the first time I was able to get her back to sleep in her crib without any hassle. The second time she was *wide* awake so I brought her into bed with us and she tossed and turned for what seemed like over an hour before finally falling asleep (in a position that made it difficult for me to go back to sleep, so the rest of my night was pretty much shot). At least she slept.

Luckily I need less sleep than either her or Bryan - I've had insomnia since before I got pregnant with Penelope and was actually on sleep medication for a little while (it didn't help). So while I'd like to get more sleep, I can settle for what I get now - at least until the teething ends.

Of course, as soon as she stops teething I'll go into labor and then no one will get any sleep for another year.

Such is life.

Speaking of labor, I have 10 more weeks until I'm full term and can hope for labor to begin. 13 weeks until my due date. I really do hope this baby decides to come a little early. He/she doesn't have to come in exactly 10 weeks, but 11-12 would be nice. We'll see, I'm sure I'll be giving minute to minute dilation updates once I get a little closer to my due date.

Some days 10 weeks seems like an eternity... and some days it feels like it will happen tomorrow. While I'm not at all anxious about labor, I am anxious about juggling 2 children under 2, finding time for school, and trying to find a job. The closer I get to my due date the more unlikely it is anyone will hire me. Few people are going to want to hire someone who will be there for a few weeks and then take 6 weeks off for maternity leave. I'll keep trying though and hope for the best.

Oh, Penny has her first dentist appointment next week. That should be interesting... she's not exactly a fan of people poking around in her mouth. I have a couple of questions for the dentist about toothpaste and toothbrushes - fun stuff, huh? That reminds me that I need to make an appointment for myself.

I had a bunch more that I wanted to say, but I've forgotten it all. And Bryan just turned on Sweeney Todd so it's time to watch some TV :)

And so it begins...

I have reached the point in my pregnancy where a full nights sleep is a beautiful, wonderful, magical impossibility. This baby, like his/her sister is a mover and when you combine that with a squished bladder and a 13 month old who comes in to sleep with us at 2am (and who is also a beg hog) then you get a mommy who gets very little sleep at night.

And a mommy who has to pee every 30 minutes.

Penelope's night wakings continue. It's all teething related, although some of it might be habit at this point. She was doing really well with sleeping in her crib from 8pm-7am every night before these two top molars started making their way in. I could just put her back in her crib when she wakes up and stand there until she falls back asleep, but I get so little sleep anyway that it's just easier for me to bring her into bed with us.

Soon (hint, hint Bryan) we'll have her new room ready and then I can lay down next to her until she goes back to sleep and then come back to bed. We're foregoing a toddler bed in favor of a Queen sized bed which will hopefully help with her night waking as well. She moves around so much in her crib (and she's really outgrown the darn thing) that I'm convinced she wakes herself up.

Hopefully "&" will be a little on the smaller side (i.e. normal sized for his/her age) and less of a wiggler - but that may just be wishful thinking.

Speaking of size. I've had FOUR people in the last TWO days tell me "Oh wow, your daughter is so BIG for her age". Yeah people, I know! 32 inches is far from average at 13 months, she's tall. I get it. She's not the tallest baby ever, but she's pretty far above average.

Ok, break time is over - back to homework! I WILL get all of this week's work done today - and I'm planning on getting at least half of next week's work done as well. Wish me luck!

Enemy, thy name is teething

Before I rant on about how much I hate teething, here's some pleasant news...

*26 week appointment yesterday: baby's heartbeat is 154, facing down, measuring at 26 weeks, everything looks good. After my February appointment I'll start going in every 2 weeks until late March and then it will be every week until I'm the baby arrives. I have a feeling that this baby will come earlier that its due date, but I could be totally off base.

Ok. Teething. I believe I've mentioned before how much I hate teething. But since it seems to be a neverending cycle of torture the whole family can enjoy then I'll continue to complain about it.

Although to be fair, Penelope isn't a "bad" teether. She doesn't scream or cry and she's generally not super fussy. She just has a hard time sleeping. So naps are erratic and bedtime is downright unpleasant. Two nights ago Bryan and I tried for nearly 2 hours to get her to bed. Last night it took an hour and I was so exhausted by the end of it that I fell asleep as well (when I should have been doing homework).

Still, I hate teething. It's inefficient and unpleasant. It certainly wasn't designed, because if it was it's shoddy work.

There's actually a lot more that I wanted to talk about, but I can never remember what those things are when I get a few minutes to sit at the computer. I need to start taking notes during the day.

Bryan's Song...

Isn't that a movie?

Anyway, one of Bryan's favorite 80s songs is "Warrior" by Scandal. It's on right now and every time I hear it I can see him playing it on Guitar Hero (I think it's on the 80s version?). It makes me smile :)

Tonight at midnight we'll celebrate our 2 year anniversary! We may actually stay up until midnight tonight, we're going over to my parents tonight for cards and games so we'll see how long we both last. Penelope did not have a great night last night so I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay awake.

Bryan just told me the Mariners play the Giants at AT&T park on April 4th... I say we should go :) I'll be as big as a house and less than 2 weeks from my due date.

Oh, so we have molar #4 - Penny has 12 teeth! It's just started to poke through, but I'm sure that's why last night was so very horrible. Between "&" kicking me from the inside and Pen kicking me on the outside I got very little sleep. Plus some idiot decided to call me twice from a private number in the middle of the night. I always freak out when my phone rings late at night, it's never good news. But apparently it was just some idiot with a wrong number (I didn't actually get to the phone in time, but he left a message for a Suzie).

Oh, and I have an interview today. It's for a part-time job and wouldn't make up my salary from my last job, but it's a job. They don't know I'm pregnant yet, I didn't think it was appropriate to mention that in my cover letter. Should be interesting.

So far that's the only interview I've been able to schedule since I got laid off. I've applied for more than a dozen jobs, but the market it pretty competitive. I have some more avenues that I need to check out, so hopefully something will happen soon.

Ok, in happier news, I'm 25 weeks pregnant today! I was a little surprised when I saw that on the calendar, for some reason I thought I was closer to 30 weeks. Wishful thinking :) According to the e-mail I got from babycenter, the baby is approx 13 inches long and weighs a little over 1.5 lbs. "&" has been moving around a lot lately, especially when Penelope crawls all over me - it seems he/she doesn't appreciate being squooshed by his/her older sister. Something poor "&" will have to get used to, older siblings are supposed to squoosh their younger siblings :)

I've been really bad about taking belly pictures lately... I'll try to get one taken today.

Ok, time to do some chores and then get ready for my interview. Hope everyone has a safe, fun, and happy New Years Eve and a wonderful New Year!!

Introducing & and many other things

So a few days ago we decided that no matter what the gender, we'd name New Baby "&" so we could still be PB&J.

The symbol.

It was, of course, a joke. But the nickname has stuck and New Baby has been re-christened "&". So he/she shall henceforth be referred to as such... and the poor thing will likely be stuck with the nickname well after birth.

Little & is doing quite well, he/she is moving around a lot especially when I'm holing Penelope. The extra pressure on his/her ever shrinking home (well, it's not shrinking, he/she is just getting larger) can't be very comfortable. I try not to hold Pen too much, especially since holding onto her for more than 5 minutes becomes an exercise in arm muscle endurance.

So I'm currently uploading a ton of video... some is of Penelope watching various Muppet Show clips on my laptop - there's some she find absolutely hilarious, there's also some of Christmas, and of Penny WALKING!

The last few days Bryan has been working with her on walking and she's getting really really good. That's probably the only video that I'll edit and upload. The rest will be dumped onto the external hard drive and Penelope can look at it when she's older. The Muppet stuff may end up here, but the Christmas stuff isn't too terribly interesting. She enjoyed herself at Christmas, but wasn't super excited - 12 months is a little early to understand the whole present concept. It's mostly just Penny & I opening her presents, not exactly thrilling :)

Christmas Eve & Christmas went well - Penelope certainly had a good time. X-Mas eve was at my grandmother's house, x-mas morning was at my parents, and then we drove up to Reno to spend x-mas day with Bryan's family. The drive was quite pleasant in the new Rav4 and Penelope slept the whole way there (and the whole way back - yea Pen!). She got a lot of clothes and toys that she loves, although I think her favorite is a book called The 12 Dogs of Christmas - it's pictures of a bunch of dogs. Surprise, surprise, she LOVES it. She'll turn the pages, say "dawg" and then laugh - it's pretty cute (well, nearly everything she does is pretty cute).

Oh, and her top right molar is peeking through, just a few of the points right now but I'm going to count it. If I can feel actual tooth then it's an official tooth :) She now has 11 teeth and there are two more making their way in. At this rate she'll have a full set in a few months! All this teething means she ends up in bed with us nearly every night - usually right around 1am. But it's ok, teething won't last forever and one day Bryan and I will get our uninterrupted sleep back (the day after which I will probably go into labor and then we'll be screwed on the sleep-front for another year plus).

Alright, so here's video of Penny walking... I'll also upload to Facebook since for whatever reason when this blog is automatically uploaded to my Facebook page the video doesn't transfer. Enjoy!