Toddler strikes again

Anyone remember my little vampire? Well she is back. Only this time she has almost a full mouth of tiny and very sharp little teeth. I really wish this whole teething process would end soon. She still has about 7 teeth to go, I think. She doesn't get that fussy which is a plus but she is definitely biting again. She has bit me twice in the last week so hard that she broke the skin. Tonight she thought she'd take a little chomp and I couldn't help but yell out a little profanity. I try to watch my language around her because she is a total parrot these days. But after this unexpected shock of pain to my shoulder I yelled out "s**t"! Followed by "that freakin hurt"! Both she repeated multiple times. Mike was sitting with us during the whole fiasco and we both had to contain our laughter. Of course I don't want my sweet little daughter cursing but why is it so funny to hear a little person say such naughty words? I would feel a little bad if she hadn't bit the heck out of me but I think I get a free pass on this one.

Every day is new

I have to say one of the most rewarding and fun things about being a parent is watching your child learn and grow. From day one they are little sponges who absorb the world around them, just waiting to put their observations into action. Even though we know the day will come that a normal healthy child will say "mama" or "dada" it is still the most amazing thing when they do. I am such typical mom who gushes with pride and joy when my daughter says something new. Stella learning to speak really seemed like one day she didn't and the next day she did. Every day after that was a new word, then two, three and now to many to count.

From very early on Stella has loved books. Reading has always been part of our daily routine, before nap and bedtime. Now that she is a little older she brings you a book and pretty much demands that you read it to her that very moment. Although it's not always convenient can you really complain that your toddler wants to read? So I try to oblige her as often as I can. Another thing that amazes me is that she knows the entire alphabet already. I don't mean to brag, oh wait, I do, but she is barely two. I'm sure there are many children that have learned them sooner and I've seen those babies on T.V. that can read but this is MY kid. So it's pretty cool.

All this active learning happening on a daily basis has got me feeling like I'm not keeping up and I want to make the most of her learning abilities. I have no desire to push her further than she is ready to go but I feel like you can't be passive in this process. Its up to me as her mother to educate myself on her development and how I can help her learn. I find it fascinating. I think the most important thing I can do for her right now is provide her with the opportunities to learn and let her go at her own pace.

I don't think it's ever possible for me to stay a step ahead of her. Toddlers are just too darn smart and they learn at a quick an unpredictable pace. I hope her knowledge of the alphabet will translate into becoming an early reader but if it doesn't she is still my little genius. I look forward to seeing what this next year has in store for her.

My little cupcake

Staying true to the fact that this little girl has a mind of her own, we didn't sing happy birthday or blow out candles and she really didn't eat her cupcake. This kid definitely has an opinion or two. But hey, she makes life more interesting. More than that she makes life wonderful. I can't believe my baby is 2.

Happy birthday Stella.

Rain, rain, go away

I read months ago that this was supposed to be an El Nino year and from the weather the last couple of weeks I'm guessing they were correct. I think we've had one day where the sun broke through for a couple of hours. It feels like it's been gloomy for eternity. I know that Northern California could use the rain but I am totally over it already.

Even with all her new toys from Christmas and her birthday Stella would much rather be outside. I took her on one short errand today and I desperately wanted to find another reason to stay out so we went to the park. Shocker, it was all wet. Stella climbed around for awhile and seemed to enjoy that but she really wanted to go down the slide, it's her favorite. Luckily she understood that the slides were wet and we didn't have any problems but after awhile I realized the park just isn't the best idea in this wet weather. Boo.

As for me I think I may have Seasonal Affective Disorder because I've been kinda bummy the last couple of days. I don't think I need to be put on suicide watch but I'll keep you posted. Kidding, kidding. I think I'm just bored and I don't want to clean and I'm so not creative. What's a pregnant mama to do? At least I have yoga tonight. That's something to look forward to. Maybe I can get my aura cleansed with some sun salutations.

Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.

Sweet relief

Dare I say my evil pregnant twin has left the building? Lately I have been feeling the absence of the edge that has been hanging out with me since early in this pregnancy. My evil twin would be irritated with everyone and everything around her and nobody, especially her husband, could do anything right! Believe me this drove me nuts as much as my family, although Mike probably wouldn't agree with that. I think I hate the hormones almost as much as I hate morning sickness. At least with morning sickness there is a visible reason for any crankiness, just look in my toilet. I also think, and this is a little unfortunate, that it could be because the holidays are past. Isn't that sad? Why do we stress so much over things that are supposed to be joyous?

Anyway, I feel the Lord has exorcised my demons! Or at least I'm having a nice vacation from them. Recently I decided I needed to be a little more proactive in my mental and physical health. I have taken almost a year hiatus from the practice of yoga but this week I went twice. I swear I can't even remember the last time I was that relaxed or calm. I kept making excuses about money, time etc. but no more excuses, my sanity is on the line! I hope I can continue even when I'm waddling to and from class.

Why is exercise so hard anyway? It is so good for you but most of us just don't make the time or effort, me included. I am all or nothing when it comes to exercise. I would rather be a here and there than an all or nothing because when it's nothing I mean nothing. This makes it so much harder to get started because you are out of a routine and out of shape, a very unmotivating combination. I guess pregnancy really forces you to take care of yourself it's just too bad I don't do it as well on my own. Even if my hormones do bring back the evil one from time to time I hope that the exercise will tame her to a tolerable level. Lets hope.

Family rocks!

Going to bed last night I realized my family really came through for me yesterday. Nobody did anything miraculous but all the little things really helped me out a lot. Starting in the morning with my mom. Stella decided 5 am was a good time to wake up so our morning was kinda crappy. She was tired and really whiny. Yesterday was one of those days where you have a child attached to your leg all day crying "Mommy, mommy". Even when I was holding her it was "mommy, mommy"! Ahhhh! I'm right here, geez! Anyway, I was talking on the phone to my mom, or trying to talk to her but Stella was just not having it. I told my mom that I had to go. We went to play with Stella's toys in the front room and two minutes later I see my mom pull up. I opened the door with "Grandma to the rescue"! We see each other often but for her to just come right over like that was awesome. She stayed for a good hour or more and played with Stella the whole time. Thanks mom!

My brother also came over in the morning to pick up and get rid of our Christmas tree. I texted him the day before to ask him if he could and he said no problem. So he came over before work just to get my tree, so cool of him. Also my Grandma, who is 83 totally came through. I needed to go into work for a couple hours to help clean the restaurant and last minute she agreed to watch Stella for me. Needless to say I went to bed last night thinking my family was pretty awesome.

We are all pretty close but that doesn't mean we always get along. Infact we bicker and get on each other's nerves alot. Days like yesterday just make so thankful to have family I can count on. We aren't always perfect but I sure do love them.

What pregnancy?

It is interesting to see how different one pregnancy can be from another. Especially from your first to your second. I don't know if this makes me a bad mother but the romance of this pregnancy is totally not the same. With the first I spent so much time day dreaming about what it would be like to be pregnant and I relished in every change of my body. Even the bad changes weren't so bad. Let me tell you that is not how its happening this time around. I'm not super excited about everything that is growing and I'm to darn busy chasing a toddler around to day dream about having another baby. Its a little sad that I don't have the same amount of time to obsess over this baby. I used to watch three different baby shows on TLC EVERY DAY. Now I have no idea when they would be on and I haven't given two thoughts to how I will decorate the nursery. This poor kid.

I'm sure as my belly and butt get bigger I will start to feel differently, and think more about this baby. But it sure is different when you already have a child that takes up the majority of your focus. I actually have a lot to be thankful for though because if this pregnancy weren't as easy as it is I'm sure I'd be thinking about it a lot more. I'm probably cursing myself as I type this. Watch, tomorrow morning I will wake up with hemorrhoids, sweet. Although I must say carrying around an almost 30 Lb kid all day doesn't feel so great on my back. So its not all roses. We should be finding out in a few weeks what the sex is which is exciting. I think after that I will be able to really imagine another little person in this house. How I'm going to do it, who knows.

Its a big one

At the end of this month I will be turning 30. Surprisingly enough I'm not freaking out. I know many people that have stressed over this milestone but for me, ehh, no biggie. If I think back ten years to where I thought I was going to be at this age I'm pretty darn close. Geez, maybe I didn't set big enough goals for myself. I always knew I wanted to be married, check. And I definitely wanted kids, check, soon to be double check. I guess what I'm trying to say is I feel my age. Is that weird? I'm not sure. I guess with every birthday I've always felt younger than my actual age but after having kids I don't feel so young anymore. I'm not saying I'm old, just not 23.

So what do I see in my thirties? I guess now is as good a time as any to think about that. Obviously my first priority and what consumes most of my time is my family. Stella will be two, the day after me. Wow. And we will be having baby number 2 in early June. So its safe to say that my thirties will most likely be spent catering to every desire of their sweet little hearts. I have a feeling those years are going to fly by. I'm about to have a two year old for goodness sake, where did my baby go! I am good with that role too, wife, mother, homemaker. It works for me. However, I feel like I need to explore me. Sounds a little strange but I want to figure out what really makes me tick. Will I have a passion in life? Or find great interest in something new? These are things that aren't so clear when you spend most of your time thinking about and caring for others.

Life is a journey though isn't it? We spend our whole lives getting to know our true selves. I 'm not sure I ever want to feel like I have it all figured out but a better idea would be nice. I guess you could say I am content with being in the process. And this is new to me.