House?

I'm here. I'm trying to get back into things on the interwebs. Life has been just so busy - good busy, but still really busy.

Now that the Critter Girl is up, standing and cruising all over the house, I just can't sit around on the computer while she plays on her playmat. Because she is not on her playmat. She is everywhere!! So fun, but, whew, so tiring!

And we are looking at moving. Which is so exciting, because our cute townhouse, which was a perfect place for me and Mr. P and the cat is now the smallest place known to man. And our storage locker is overflowing. And our garage has become storage locker #2. We need to move.

But it seems to be happening fast. Like we've been looking online (Hi, my name is Pie, and I am a Redfin addict. Hi Pie.) for over a year, and just started touring houses. And last night we found it. As Mr. P has termed it, our Forever House. When I move out of there, its to the nursing home. Or the grave. Seriously, the house is that good.

We put in an offer, and are now waiting. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, as it has a good chance of not working out. I know this in my head, but in my heart - I'm already decorating the place for Valentine's Day. Yikes.

So a lot going on here. But I miss you guys, so I will make a pledge to keep up more. Scout's honor, from a Brownie drop-out.

11 months

(I know I've been totally MIA. Everything's fine, just busy with holiday stuff and life in general. My Reader is overflowing, I swear I will get caught up soon. Really.)

OMG - only one more month til you are a year old. How can it be?? Well, happy 11 month birthday, my sweet Critter Girl!!

This has been another busy busy month of developments for you Critter Girl! So what happened?

Pulling Up! You are pulling up on every last thing these days. You don't care if it is something stable - like the coffee table - or not-so-stable - like your play rocker - you will pull up on it. With varying success, as the bruises on your forehead prove. You look like a prize fighter.

Cruising! You will move your way around the room, touching and shaking and getting into everything in your reach. A whole new level of babyproofing is going on around here. You have also let go and stood (for a few seconds) by yourself. I won't be at all surprised if you walk soon.

Language! You say Mama (or Mom-mom, or just Mom, which is funny to hear you say) and Dada correctly. You know those are our names. You know Dada's voice, and when he calls during the day to check up on you, you love to talk to him on the phone. You hear him, light up and say "Dada!!" with such delight. And I know it's not just the phone that makes you say it - you talked to a girlfriend of mine, and just looked confused that it wasn't Dada on the phone. You also say "KiCa" for the Kitty Cat. So you know the names of all the important people in your life. It is so very super sweet. You are also waving now, and can clap and shake things on demand. You have become a little language sponge.

It seems like changes in you are happening so fast these days. One minute you are lying on the floor, the next you are up and moving all around, calling out for me. I can't wait to see what the next month holds for you. And I will be busy planning your first birthday party. Surreal, and exciting too.

I love you more than I ever thought possible, my sweet Critter Girl. I am so happy to be your Mama.

Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Even you non-Americans, I hope you take a moment in your busy day today (hey, we should do this every day!) to stop and give thanks for the good in our lives.

I am thankful today, for my family, for my life where it is at right now. In years past, it was much harder to come up with things to be thankful for. Another BFN after very well-timed sex. Failing yet another IUI attempt, not sure if we should try another. Waiting to do yet another IVF in the new year. Being pregnant and not knowing that a pre-term labor scare was a few days away. These are my last several Thanksgivings.

But this year - this year there is no more waiting, no more hoping. This year I can just be totally, truly, fully thankful. And help the Sweetest of all Critter Girls enjoy her first Turkey Day feast.

I know some of you out there are still in that hard-to-find-thankful-things place, especially when it comes to family building. I hope there are many other things in your life that bring you joy, that you are thankful for. And that very soon you are able to write a list like I have above, looking back at all you went through, that you are going through now, to get to the happier place you will be then.

Thank you for the support, the good wishes, the friendship. I am thankful for this blog and the community of wonderful people that share it with me.

And make sure you eat some PIE today! At least a slice, if not a few. It's good for you, trust me. When Pie tells you to eat pie - you should listen!

sick

We are still here, but I've been sick for over a week now. Ugh, I just cant seem to kick this.

Snuffles, coughing up all sorts of colorful things, blech.

And I found out, this new job I have - there are no sick days. None. My sweet Critter Girl needs her mom, sick or not. And I really could have used a sick day last week.

Probably why I'm not better - I don't have the time to get better!

Cough, cough, snuffle.

10 months

Happy double-digits, sweet Critter Girl! You are 10 months old today!

After last month's whirlwind, this month seemed quieter. Let's see what happened:

Pulling up! It appears that you will not do a traditional crawl, but go right from army crawling (at which you are very proficient!) to pulling yourself up to standing. It's funny, you will get on your hands and knees, and look like you will crawl, but if you are wanting to move, you just go belly down, and begin army crawling. Your pulling up is getting better day by day, and you can even hold on to something - crib rails, baby gate, Mommy - and stand on your own. For a little while. We have the bruises on your head to prove it.

Class! You began your first class this month! We are taking a "crawlers" class at a local kid's gym place, and you love it! We sing songs, play guitar, clap, wave our arms and play with all sorts of new toys. Your best friend is in the class with you, but you also like checking out the new babies too. And you sleep like a rock the night after class, so Mommy loves it too.

Observing! Ok, this is something I've noticed lately, and maybe no one else would notice it, but I think you are beginning to pause and look at things before putting EVERY LAST THING in your mouth. You will look at, turn over, pass from hand to hand, even sniff, a new or favorite object (read: iPhone) before you stick it in your mouth. This is new. This is progress.

No new teeth this month. Only new food is blueberries, as a finger food. You love them, and maybe TMI, but they make your poop smell like blueberries, which is funny to me. You dressed up as a flower for Halloween, and tolerated your petal hat pretty well.

Happy 10 months, my sweet baby girl. Mommy loves you more and more and more every day.

Ahhhhhh

I had a great weekend! It was so nice - from the plane ride (which, shockingly, was smooth both ways!), to seeing my friend, to wine tasting and eating well - it was just so rejuvenating. I missed my Critter Girl, and got lots of texts and pictures of her all weekend. But the time away, it was so needed.

I came back to "work" yesterday feeling refreshed, happy and ready to go. And I think it was good for the Critter to spend time with Daddy - really with anyone that's not me. She loves me, and she loves her dad, and she had fun seeing all her "uncles" (read: Mr. P's friends that he saw over the weekend). She is better adjusted for her time away from me.

And it was good for me to remember myself a bit. It is easy as a SAHM to lose yourself, lose your adult self. It was nice to have adult conversations, have adult beverages, be an adult for awhile. To remember myself, who I was, who I am still, buried under the SAHM responsibilities. I am better adjusted for my time away from her.

Me Time allows me to be a better mom. No question about it.

Me Time

The Critter has recovered from the crappy croup. Just like the doc said, it lasted about 5 days, with 2 nights being pretty bad. She was a bit phlemy for a few extra days, but is now back to her happy self.

Of course, then I got some of the creeping crud too, in the form of a nasty cold and accompanying cold sore. Joy. And now Mr. P, who started us all of on this merry-go-round of sick, is all stuffy again. This is what having kids is all about, isn't it? Passing your cold around the house all winter.

Mr. P isn't going to have any time to lie on the couch (and bitch, the way only a man with the sniffles can do) because he goes into primary parent mode as of tomorrow morning. That is because I'm going on a trip. All by myself. For fun.

Let's let that sink in a moment.

All by myself. For fun. It's been awhile. For either of those things.

I'm going to visit a friend of mine in CA. She recently moved there and got married, so I'm going to check out her new digs and have some adult time.

Honestly, in addition to seeing my friend of course, what I'm really looking forward to is the plane ride. 4 hours to just sit. To just be. Maybe read (OMG, I had to look all over the house last night to find my beloved Kin.dle, abandoned since the Critter was born). Maybe sleep. Maybe just space out. For sure, not to take care of anyone else other than myself. I'm really looking forward to that.

And I'll admit, although I'm super-duper happy about some Me Time, I'm very nervous about missing the Critter, and her missing me. We have never been apart from each other for more than a few hours. Ever. Not since she was a frozen little blast.

I hope we both do ok.

(But still I'm excited!!! Woooooot!)