Hit and run, water lines, pneumonia, and other woes

Hit and run...that's what I was almost charged with last week.. I was driving Mike's truck to work because he was going to be doing some work on my van. Let's just say it doesn't drive quite so easily as my van (even though they are the same size and basically have the same controls, engine, etc.). When I realized that his truck was just too big and had too much of a turning radius to easily get into the parking spot, I, like any rational person, decided to back up and go somewhere else. As I backed up, I hit the car next to me! UGGG talk about frustrating since I was running to get to my office to get some things done before my class started. I decided to move the truck to the other parking lot, and walk back over the offer up my insurance info and whatnot for the owner of the other car (who was not around). Well, someone who saw it happen, caught the eye of a cop and told them that it was a hit and run. I passed the cop and heard him saying that on his radio. I immediately told him why I moved the truck (it would have blocked the entire parking lot) and that I was coming back to write down my info. That was quite a mess.

Speaking of wide things, Michael was widening our driveway on Saturday and Sunday. While trying to even out the drive on Sunday, he hit the water line to the house. So, then entire rest of the day on Sunday was spent repairing the damage that the utilities company so eloquently explained as "your problem Bub."

And to top that all off, Michael woke up with an extremely high fever at 3 AM - if it's not one reason to be up in the middle of the night it's another. He went to the doctor today and found out that he has pneumonia. He's beat - especially because before heading to the doctor's office today, he spread a dump-truck full of gravel in the driveway this morning.

To top off that I didn't want Michael around the kids much today because we weren't sure what illness had befallen him, our sitter has strep throat and can't watch the kids for a few days. So, we had to call in the back-up team - my Aunt to sit with the girls this morning. She was not scheduled to arrive until after my classes began. We could have called Michael's mom, but she just got out of the hospital yesterday. The foot she had surgery on has an infection. I ended up taking Kenna to work with me this morning. I wonder if I'm the first woman to give a test with a baby on her hip; I hope not. I will just say that the sling that I use was a perfect way to keep Kenna happy while I was giving the test (American Sign Language, so that means I had to sign the test to them).

It's just been crazy, but hey at least we have health insurance to cover the doctor's visit and chest x-ray today. And, the prescription comes out of my pre-taxed reimbursement account. I reckon there is a silver lining somewhere in all of that.

I love having two kids

There are just some great moments with two kids that I can't even imagine having only one child and missing out on those special treats.

This morning, I took the girls to story time at our local library. We are regulars there. :) This morning, I went into the story time circle to sit next to Morgan for part of the program. Kenna was in my lap during part of that time. I decided to let Kenna practice sitting up by putting her on the floor in a sitting position right next to her sister. Morgan immediately put her arm around Kenna and gave her a kiss. She kept her arm around her for the remainder of the story. She occasionally would look at her or talk to her about the story Ari was reading. It was the greatest feeling to have such a wonderfully sweet daughter. And it was great to see the delight on Kenna's face because her sister was next to her.

You just don't get moments like that with only one child. I am so blessed!

You know you're getting old when

Michael and I went to an Old Crow Medicine Show concert at EKU recently.

We knew we were out of our league and among those of the younger generation when the college students used the glow of their cell phones instead of lighters to sway to the music.

Potty news: "R" says "rrr" for Poop on the potty"

This is one of my favorite new sayings of Morgan's. She has a toy that sings a little song for each letter of the alphabet to help with phonics. "R says "rr" R says rr. Every letter makes a sound. R says "rr." You get the idea.

When my little cutie pie sits on the potty to make a poop she says "rr" (just for fun grunting noises). After she got the idea that R says rr, she just can't help herself but to tell us that "rr" is for poop on the potty! We've tried to convince her that really "P says p. and P is for Pee-pee, poop, potty." But she just doesn't buy that yet.

I'm just wondering what Margaret (our sitter) thinks when she takes Morgan to the potty. :)

On other fun and happy notes about the potty, Morgan has only had one accident (knocking loudly on my wooden desk) in about 3 days. She is going completely by herself. I usually know that she's going potty by the shouts of "Momma, I want nemo treats." or "I want those in the box." She has been happy to perform for the treats for a while now, and she was even self initiating potty breaks frequently. I think the breakthrough came when we were at the park with just underwear (not a Dora underwear diaper) and she peed without telling us or pulling the pants down. When we had to leave the park because it was too cold to run around half naked I think she really got the idea of the real benefit of not peeing in her pants.

I'm a recovering addict

It is true! I have all of the classic symptoms:

1. shaky if I don't get my fix,
2. Irritable,
3. irresistible urge to get the stuff now,
4. Obsessive thoughts about the object of my desire.

Michael and I began phase 1 of the South Beach Diet (again). The diet is really a lifestyle change and we (along with the rest of Mike's family) began following the principles of the diet about a year and a half ago when his mom had a heart attack.

There are three phases of the plan. Phase 1 is the most strict about what you can and can't eat. Basically the goal of phase 1 is to break your addiction to unhealthy carbs (refined processed sugar, white flour, white rice, etc.). We were successful in doing this before and we lived in phase 3 for a long time. In phase 3 you eat pretty much whatever you want, but you pay attention to how much and when you're having carbs so the addictive nature of them doesn't take over.

We hit the point where we weren't watching them so much anymore and they are all over us again. I can tell you that Sunday and Monday were some difficult days around here! I'm feeling much better today.

By the third day of any new venture it starts to become comfortable and routine. Today was my turning point in overcoming the addiction. I attended a training session at work today. When I arrived there were donuts, fruit juice, and pizza available. I was really glad I had my bag of nuts and my water bottle with me. Sitting in the front and opposite side of the room from the food was also helpful. I didn't go near the table with the food. I didn't stare longingly. I didn't even think about the pizza and donuts after the first glance.

Traveling for work

This weekend I took my first business trip for my new job. Luckily the colleague that I share an office and the rental car with really likes babies (that or she fakes it really well). My co-worker was really understanding about Kenna joining us for the trip. She didn't mind the stops to feed Kenna, the (short lived) crying during the middle of her workshop presentation, or the distraction caused by a cute baby in a room full of women.

Kenna was a great traveler. We had to drive 5 hours to get to Paducah. She spent an entire day in a workshop and then spent another 5 hours in the car. All in all it was not much of a baby-fun trip, but she did not complain at all. I think she only cried twice - both involved changing her diaper when she was hungry.

The rest of the family stayed home for this trip since Mike already had a commitment with the Boy Scouts. I hope that they can join me for future trips so we can still have family time.

The job is going well so far. Kenna has gone to work with me almost everyday. I've found a great place to make milk. Instead of taking over the conference room to pump milk, I've found a furnished, but vacant office I can use. I share an office with two other folks; so, finding this office to use has been great. I can continue to check e-mail and work on my projects while making milk.

Morgan seems to really like going to "Ms. Margaret's" house. Margaret watches a couple of other kids and Morgan seems to get along with them and enjoys playing there. She even took a nap there the other day. I basically live in denial that Kenna goes there. I think she is being well cared for, but I still don't like the idea of her being taken car of by someone else (besides me or her dad). I cry about it some days more than others. If this position were a part-time job with the same benefits available (even if I had to pay more for them), I'd be much happier with the situation. As it is, I'm off to bed now so I can go into the office tomorrow morning before taking the girls to the library. I'm still trying to be an "at home" mom while working a full-time job.

The Compact

At my friend Gretchen's blog I learned about something called "The Compact." The basic concept is to take a break from buying new things. Her challenge is for February. I was up for and it and talked to Michael about it. He was willing to try it too. We figured "Why wait" so, we're already starting.

I used to rarely buy new things. Used items were my staples. Since I started earning a decent living for myself, I found myself buying new for most everything. I'm not big on shopping; so, I think I kept the habit of shopping new (evevn though we've been only partially employeed for the last year and a half) because I didn't have to go "digging and scrounging" for what I wanted.

Today we had the first opportunity to put compacting to the test. I was in serious need of some new work clothes. I have not gotten my shape back after having Kenna and I had to start work this week. In addition to clothing for my bottom half not fitting, none of my "professional" shirts fit either. I think since Morgan was still nursing during more than half of my pregnancy with Kenna, the normal gain in bra size when nursing a baby was compounded.

While Morgan was visiting Ms. Margaret (her new childcare provider) Mike and I went to the Salvation Army store in town. We chose that thrift store because we'd never stopped by there before.

It was our lucky day. We went through the blouses and pants racks. Michael is a great helper because he will keep looking and hand me additonal things to try on while I'm in the dressing room. I found about 8 new shirts and 3 pair of pants and a skirt to buy. The shirts were marked $1.99 each. Pants were slightly more expensive. The great news is that they were having a "bag sale." The cashier handed out plastic garbage bags and told us that we could put as many fabric items in the bag as we could fit. The price for the entire bag was $4! I basically got a new wardrobe for $4 and 30 minures of my time.

So far I'm liking the renewal of my more frugal shopping ways. I just wish I had read Gretchen's post before I went to Lexington and bought a new breastpump (thanks Gretchen for the parts, they are for the same brand I bought).

3 Days of work...So far so good

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a new job. I started work on Monday this week. The job is going well so far. I’m meeting the people in nearby offices and getting myself settled. I’ve only cried a couple of times about it in the past week, which is actually fewer than I expected.

Of course I have been in denial about the job for quite some time. Several aspects of it really hit home this week.

First, I really wish that I had been more proactive in pumping milk for Kenna all along. Now, reality hits that she is going to have to take bottles on occasion (more than I’m willing to admit - still) and sometimes we’re gonna need milk when we didn’t expect to need it. Right now, I only have 1 feeding worth of milk in the fridge for her. I already know that she’ll need that on Friday if not before then. It is just so much easier to feed her than to pump. If I could just bring her to all of my meetings we wouldn’t have this problem. The saving grace of the pumping and bottle feeding is that she doesn’t mind the bottle at all, which breaks my heart and makes me relieved at the same time. Read as: major fit of sobbing on my part.

She has gone to work with me everyday this week (not all day everyday – again fits of crying when I left her on my first day). She is a charmer and has caused me to meet people even more quickly than I probably would have without her. No one at the office seems to mind that she’s here with me this week. She will continue to go to work with me when my schedule allows. I just don’t think that college students want to see their teacher’s baby during class time.

Secondly, the nice neat little schedule that Michael and I had worked out for when I would be at the office, when he would be at work/teaching, and when we would have overlaps of schedule to require other childcare coverage was just a pie in the sky dream. From my very first day of work all of that was thrown out the window by the fact that several meetings that I’m required to attend were already planned – one of them during playdate time! The rest of them were during times that I planned to be watching the kids. So, our plan of having my aunt watch the kids one morning a week and Mike’s mom watch them one afternoon a week is just not working out.

This is what has caused the most recent bouts of crying. It is so hard to come to grips with leaving the kids with someone else. We’ve decided on an in-home childcare provider. All of the kids she watches currently have been with her since they were born (2.5 year old twins, 15 month old, 6 year old). This speaks well of her. The only reason she has an opening for our two girls is because she was watching another set of twins that started kindergarten and no longer need her services. Morgan stayed with her for about an hour today just to see how things would go. Morgan had fun playing with the toys. I’m not sure how much she interacted with the other kids there. We’re only paying for part-time care for them; so, they will only be with the woman a maximum of 5 hours on any one day. We don’t expect to take them there 5 days a week, but we do have that option since we have to pay for the full week if we take them or not.

Some other reality checks about the job are actually a good ones. I knew I would like the work, but I am reminded about how much I like going to work and having adults to talk with (I've not worked since the end of September). There is one other person at my office that has a year old baby and others who have children. I’ve enjoyed talking with them about our children, but it is also nice to talk with my colleagues about other topics and to contribute professionally again. All of this doesn’t make it easier to leave the girls, but it does make it bearable and even enjoyable while I’m there.

Some other good news is that my insurance and paychecks start on January 15th! Yipee that's a great perk. I started work this week and will get paid on Monday.

The last perk of starting work is the exercise I'm getting. My office is .5 mile from my house. So, by walking to work and home at least once a day that's a mile of exercise on hills. Plus, I'm usually carrying Kenna or pushing the heavy double stroller while carrying my backpack full of books, snacks, and water. This should help the overly shapely body of mine get back to a more normal shape and back into my pre-pregnancy clothes at some point sooner than if I didn't have to go to work.

Christmas Fun

The Christmas Festivities have officially begun for us. This morning we visited Mike's best friend's parents' house for their annual Christmas Brunch. We always enjoy our visit there and were disappointed to have to leave early to come home and host our own party with my family.

Although my family arrived fashionably(?) late, we had an afternoon of good food and good fun. Here is an irresistible picture of Morgan showing off her new purse, bracelet, and necklace that her Aunt Sissie Lynn gave her. She was just as happy with the jar of honey and the buzzing bumblebee that my mom, her G-maw, got her.

Kenna was a great sport at being passed from person to person all day. She was also a good sport about her Momma making her look silly with the reindeer antlers that Grandmom Hale bought for Morgan. She gave us big smiles for the musical antlers until we started taking pictures. I think she will have the same aversion to picture taking that her mom has.

Picky Eaters

You know two-year old children are notorious for being picky eaters. Well, Morgan in many ways is an exception to that rule. She eats a wide variety of healthy foods. She does eat "junk" food just like the rest of us, but she is just as (or possibly more) likely to choose strawberries as her snack instead of chocolate frosted cupcakes. This was proven at a recent playdate at the park!

But, she is quite picky in the plate, cup, or utensils that she will use. The other day I was working on a Christmas gift for Michael and in the craft drawer she found an ashtray. It is really a beautiful thing - blue and white pattern. It was picked up in Mexico from friends who live in Texas - interestingly enough they sent it to use as a Christmas gift the same year Michael stopped smoking.

Well, later when she wanted vegetable soup as a snack, I put the soup in one of her bowls. She immediately started yelling at me that she didn't want that bowl. She wanted the blue plate! I'm not sure if a cigarette has ever even touched the ashtray, but I quickly washed it and transferred the soup to the "plate." She ate 3 large helpings in that ashtray!

The moral of this story? Picky eaters are quite common. If they want to eat vegetable soup in an ashtray go for it; it's better than eating ice cream in their bowl.

Most needed baby-item

When I was pregnant with Morgan, I often wondered what items other parents just couldn't live without. Sometimes I asked. Often the suggestions turned out to be things that I look upon as convenience items, but not "must haves." Now that I am an experienced mom, I have my own "must haves" list. The only item on the list that you can purchase is a sling.


The sling I use is a Maya Wrap ring sling. There are other sorts of versatile carriers available. I would recommend any of them you can find at Mother Nurture in Lexington. It is by far the one baby-care item that I can't live without. I used it frequently when Morgan was a tiny baby, and even more when she was a bigger baby. Although less so, I still carry her in it now on occasion - like last week when she was sick. It is just much easier to lug a 30 pound child around in a sling than it is to use my arm muscles. The sling also allows me to keep both hands free to do other things. This aspect of the sling can't be overemphasized.



I use the sling pretty much constantly now. It is part of my daily wardrobe - it's far more important than a bra or underwear. With Kenna in the sling, I am still able to help Morgan get un/dressed, go pee, throw-up, cook (although the label clearly states not to do this), push a stroller, etc. You get the idea, with the sling it is almost like I am still pregnant instead of carrying a baby around in one arm while trying to do everything else one handed.

Explovsive Breastfed-baby Poop!

I know you probably don't need to see this, but I have to share the amazing feats that my dear youngest daughter can do. Yes, ladies and gentelmen, that is almost an entire poop on the outside of her diaper. The diaper Kenna is wearing here is a Kiss-a-luvs fitted diaper that is a size too big for her; so, I can completely understand why it came out of the leg holes. Luckily, I had a good fitting cover on with it.



I am so glad that I use cloth diapers - you can put most anything inside one of those good covers and be pretty darn sure that the mess will be contained. The few times that my girls have pooped while wearing a disposable diapers I end up having to clean poop from clothes or an entire body (chin to toes). Knocking on wood very hard right now, but I've never had to clean like that with cloth diapers. She is just getting a bath here because it was time to give her a bath soon anyway. With all of the poop outside of the diaper it just took a couple of wipes to get it all off of her leg and bottom.

Ok, 'nough said.

I forgot to knock on wood

When you say “I don’t know how I would….” The universe seems to think it should let you figure out how you would.

At the library last Wednesday, one of the women from the mom’s group I hang out with told me that one of the other mom’s was sick with a stomach bug. We commented how that would be a difficult predicament to be in. I said “I don’t know how I would even take care of my kids if I felt really sick besides calling Michael and telling him to come home.”

On Wednesday night about 10 PM Morgan (who has never been sicker than a runny nose and cough) woke up throwing-up. Poor girl did not have any clue what was going on with her body. After completely stripping her, the bed, and cleaning the floor, we put her in the shower. She did enjoy the shower and did not want to get out. We felt that it was probably something she ate; so, we got her back into PJs and she went back to sleep. She slept for awhile, puked for a while, slept for a while, puked for a while… You get the idea. By 2 AM, she was all done puking and slept until around 8 or 8:30.

She seemed her normal self Thursday morning. So, we thought she was all better. We went to visit grandma, then she took a really long nap. On Friday morning we had our first hint that the throwing up episode may have been something more than what she ate. She had a temperature of 101. We put her in the car to let her sleep while we ran some errands in Lexington.

I know by this point of reading you’re wondering when the “Knock on Wood” part comes in. Well here it is. By the time we got back from Lexington both Michael and I were not feeling too well. Just a little upset to our stomachs. By 1:30, we were basically taking turns passing Kenna off on the other to run while we ran to the toilet. Heck, at one time Michael was in the bathroom and all I could do was get a bucket that we’d used for Morgan a couple of nights before, while holding the nursing Kenna in the sling.

So, here’s all I can say about taking care of your kids while you’re sick – Hope that they are willing to hang out in bed for the duration or are old enough to entertain themselves well. I wish that Morgan wasn’t sick, but her willingness to just lay in the bed with her pathetic parents for days was extremely helpful. Of course there was not much rest for the weary since she is quite a squirmer, but at least we didn’t have to chase her around the house.

During the entire time we were lounging in bed, there was a definite rule. If the covers were not completely covering Morgan we were to immediately remedy the situation. If we did not cover her we heard “Blankets Momma/Daddy, Blankets!” We realized the seriousness of her infatuation with the blankets when we were saying rounds of I love yous. “I love you Michael. I love you Kenna. I love you Morgan.” “I love you Kimberly, I love you Morgan, I love you Kenna.” To which Morgan responded “I love you blankets.” I cracked up, which got me in big trouble, but now I know where I rank.

Trials of technology

I have a couple of priceless videos of my daughters interacting. Mostly they consist of Morgan doing loving (or sometimes not so loving) things to her sister while her sister sits quietly and accepts it for a short time - then starts to fuss.

Unfortunately I can't share these with you right now because my Palm Treo just will not synch with my computer tonight. I've had this problem with the Treo basicly since I got it. Sometimes it will synch and other times it will not. Tonight it will not and I've been trying various configurations on the computer and the Palm to make it work. I give up for tonight since it's bed time now.

I hope to share some of the great videos soon.

I can't find time to write

Everyday my life generates several things that I’d like to write about, but I never seem to actually get the time to expound on them while I have access to the computer and two free hands to type. Here is a list of some of the things that have come to mind lately.

1. Don’t assume that a two-year old can’t bite through the plastic! I was rearranging the freezer to make room for groceries and decided to throw out some really old popsicles and various other items that were not likely to be eaten this century. Upon spotting the popsicles Morgan insisted on having one (they are they ones for sickly kids). She was really interested in the cold sensation; so, I in my infinite wisdom decided to let her have one to chew on. I figured if I didn’t open the package she could not make a mess. Wrong! :)

2. Two-year olds are a lot of fun to play with. I actually spent some time playing with my daughter. I realized one afternoon that I had not really played with her for a while. Sure I had taken care of her needs (poured the juice, helped with pooping on the potty, finding the bunny, etc), but I had not really spent time while she was doing her full-time job – play.

We spent some quality time playing follow the leader with her trucks, which I should tell you requires quite some contortion for a thirty-something momma. You have to basically do the downward dog yoga pose and push a truck along the floor. I guess some people do that type of contortion on a regular basis, but I am not one of them.

After playing trucks, we moved on to blocks. We stacked and knocked over the blocks more times that even I can count. We enjoyed counting and seeing how high we could make the stack before Morgan pulled the blocks out from the bottom – her favorite way to knock it down. She successfully stacked 8 before it feel down. I could only get to 10 by the time she was tired of waiting and knocked mine down.

3. We’ve about finished our Christmas shopping. We actually did not have to purchase much this year. I can’t say what we did get as someone might see their gift listed here. I just need to get Michael a couple more things. We’re finished buying for the girls, the nieces and nephews, and parents. We do still need to get a couple more things for friends of the family.

I usually get into the spirit of wanting to pick a great gift for everyone that I buy for. I also usually have the chore of shopping done before Thanksgiving. This year did not work out that way, but I’m hoping to finish up this week sometime.

4. Speaking of great gift ideas, some close friends of Michael gave Morgan Jo a subscription to BabyBug magazine. This magazine is designed for babies six months through two years (and beyond). Morgan loves it! We read the two issues we’ve received so far several times a day. The company also produces another magazine for older toddlers (Ladybug) as well as several selections for children and teens. Check out Babybug.

5. Kenna has begun to smile at us. It really warms a heart to see those smiles just for Mom or Dad…ok, she gives them to other people too. Here’s a great picture of her with her big sister.

Blogger seems to be having a problem with the photos. I will try again later.

6. Check out this blog from my friend Deborah. It is really a blog to post updates to her distant relatives about her family, but there's a post about my aunt's farm there. Be sure to check out "Three babies, Two Mommas, and a Truck."

EKU Outreach Job

Here’s a little info about the new job I will be starting in January. It is a faculty position at Eastern Kentucky University in the Interpreter Training Program. I will be teaching two courses and doing outreach for the other half of my job. The outreach consists of coordinating/planning workshops and training sessions for interpreters across the state as well as designing some on-line courses for interpreters and mentors.

Basically, my position is grant funded from the Kentucky Department of Education to provide training for interpreters in public schools and for mentors working with those interpreters.

I’m pretty excited about starting the job. I will have a fairly flexible schedule for when I do much of the work. I will also get to travel across the state with family to the workshop sites. (The family has to go with me since Kenna still drinks only from “Mom’s All-Day and Night Diner.”)

I’ll post more about the job in January.

Ordering Dinner

Why is it that every time I go out to eat I tell myself that I will order a salad, but then when I get my hands on the 4-page menu I just can't help myself from looking right past the salads and on to the more indulgent items. At least tonight my meal included some vegetables (green peppers count, right?).

I really do like salad. I think when I see all of those choices that I’m too lazy or don’t know how to make it is just too tempting to order one of those things instead of a more healthful/fewer calories for the bulk salad.

I’m really going to try harder next time. I mean I’ve got 20 pounds stuck on my hips that wasn’t there before I conceived Kenna – I’ve got to do something. I am going to be working in January and I really don’t want to buy a new work-pants/skirt wardrobe. I already need to purchase new shirts since nursing a second child seems to have added even more to the expanded bosom.

Naptime? - You mean I'm supposed to sleep?

Ok, so naptime is important, we’ve already established that. But what do little people really do when mom closes the door and says it’s time for resting? Today while I was posting why moms like nap time, Morgan Jo was supposed to be “napping.” Really what that meant today was stay in your room and play quietly since it is obvious to me that you’re not going to nap. We have this routine – sometimes she naps and sometimes she plays quietly (and happily) for a while until I finish my pressing business and go into her room to tell her that “resting time” is finished.

She did finally nap today, but not until after she built and climbed Mount Everest to get into her bed. If you look carefully you’ll find her.

About the time I was finished with my “chores” and was ready to go in and tell her “resting time” was over, I realized that I had not heard her making noise in a while. She slept for well over 2 hours after playing so hard.

Naps are for Mommas

Yes, it is true that children need naps. If they don’t get enough sleep they can get quite grouchy, but the real reason that moms require naps of young children is because moms need the break! Here are a few reasons/things I do (in no particular order and not exhaustive) when my kids nap:

1. take a nap
2. read
3. get the bookkeeping done
4. pay the bills
5. investigate the policies, etc for my new job
6. eat chocolate (or whatever) without having to share
7. grocery shop (If you haven’t tried EW James shop from home service you should)
8. check e-mail in peace
9. stare off into space
10. dream about riding my bike
11. catch up on reading Gretchen's blog (www.mind-flush.blogspot.com)
12. clean my house

Happy Birthday Morgan Josephine!

On the eve of her second birthday, I am struck by how much she has grown and changed in the last 2 years. This comparison is made slightly easier given that we have a one month old hanging out at our house now. Morgan is quite a little person and besides the occasional meltdowns a joy to be around.

She had her first official birthday party yesterday. She thoroughly enjoyed it. She had grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins galore to help her celebrate. When we began talking about a birthday party she told me that she wanted to go to the Hundred-acre Wood for her party and that she needed a party hat. Well, she got both!

We did not do much in the way of decorations, but we did manage a few steamers and some Winnie the Pooh plates. She selected a very festive party hat. She actually wore for it most of the party. I think we’re going to make it the official Birthday hat.

Michael and I decided to get her a grocery cart for her birthday. So, we asked people to bring one item each to help fill it… Well, I’m sure you know how family can be. They each brought more than one item, but I forgave them. :) She has more fruits, vegetables, and various other groceries and kitchen implements that we need new shelves in her kitchen (i.e. the dining room). She also received Curious George, which we have read at least a half dozen times already.